Sway
by SeRa.RoCkS
Summary: With so much left behind, an all-grown up Haley James reluctantly ventures back into her hometown, only to come face to face with the man who still has her heart. With their past still a vivid memory, can they open up long enough to let each other in?
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! waves Obviously, this is my new story entitled ****Sway****, which is actually inspired by the song by Bic Runga and a really vague plot that has been in my head for months now. My close friend re-introduced me to that song, and I absolutely fell in love in with it. I actually have no idea why I didn't appreciate it before. As soon as I listened to it, the first thing that popped in my head was Naley.**

**So I've been writing ****Collide****, and decided to give this one a try. As you may or may not know, I've been debating on two different ideas, but eventually, I ended up writing this. This first chapter was actually written seven or eight times with at least five different versions. You'd be surprised that the finished product of this first chapter took two months to write and complete. I hope you guys like it!**

**--Sera**

**Disclaimer: **Anything associated to One Tree Hill aside from this story is completely not mine, as much as I want it to be.

" … _**I say it's all because of you …"**_

_The freezing rain was pouring, soaking them to the bone – the cold wind rushing through the air and stinging their bare skins, but they were practically oblivious to it. Rain had always been a big part of their relationship – it was their "thing" as people would call it. When you thought of rain, you'd think them. Almost every wonderful, significant moment or happening in their relationship had something to do with it. Rain was supposed to symbolize them – their relationship – their love. Well, _supposed_ love now._

_It was ironic how now; it was out here in the rain that everything ended._

"_I need to know you feel the same way." She whispered, her voice so small and hoarse from endless nights of crying herself to sleep, praying – hoping – wishing none of it ever happened. Wishing … wishing she had never agreed to any of this in the first place. But he had been so handsome, and charming – and she loved the thrill that ran through her spine whenever he flashed her that trademark sexy smirk of his, the butterflies in her stomach when he said her name – the way he could effortlessly get under her skin. It was practically impossible for her not to agree to anything he said._

_His intense blue orbs that were always full of mischief were empty – unreadable. She thought she could read him like a book – she thought she knew him well enough to know how to. Her heart shattered into pieces when all she saw was emptiness – helpless and so unsure of what to say or do. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His heart ached when he saw tears fill her gorgeous, brown eyes._

"_Why can't you say anything?" She begged him, tears spilling down her cheeks, mixing with the rain that pattered on her skin. "Didn't it mean anything to you? Didn't anything between us mean anything to you?"_

_A helpless sob escaped her lips when she didn't hear a response. She held up a trembling hand to her mouth, in the hope of stopping it but she couldn't as more sobs came out. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you could just stand there and act like you don't care. I thought that after everything that happened between us, it could have meant something to you – just enough for you to say something, but you couldn't even bring yourself to do it."_

_Finally, he seemed to have found his voice as he tried to approach her. "Haley –"_

_She shook her head, taking steps back away from him. "Oh, so now he speaks! Well you know what, it doesn't even matter anymore. I don't want this – not anymore – not after now. I've had enough. I'm tired of trying to be the girl you want me to be. I'm tired of chasing after you, constantly changing myself to satisfy you – to make you happy. I'm tired of being a cover-up for someone. And I'm tired of pretending and hoping that it's me in your heart instead of someone else. It's over."_

_For the first time that night, he spoke with a voice filled with frantic panic. His fingers curled around her wrist as he tried to pull her back. "No, Haley – no, please. Always and forever, Haley – remember?"_

_Her eyes were ablaze with a new fire, filled with anger and her voice was unnaturally cold as she whispered, "That was a _lie_ Nathan, and you know it. It was always a lie. _You_ made it a lie."_

_And with that, she was gone – gone from his life. Gone from the lies._

"Hey Hales, are you ready to leave?" A voice asked from behind her.

Twenty-three-year-old Haley James spun around in surprise to see her best friend Lucas Scott standing at her bedroom doorway. She plastered a smile on her face as he pulled her into a hug, a hug she came to love ever since they were little kids. It had always given her a sense of comfort and solitude, especially during times when she felt at her lowest.

Lucas, sensing immediately what Haley was thinking, tightened the hug. "Hey buddy, it's alright. It won't be that bad."

Haley simply shook her head, burying her head into his chest. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, and she tightened her eyes shut to stop them from falling. Her body began to shake slightly as she held her tears back.

"It's okay to cry, Hales. You've gone through so much this past years. You deserve to let it all out once in a while." He told her gently.

Haley pulled back, shaking her head again. Her eyes were wet with tears as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. "No, I won't cry anymore. I've had enough of pining and wanting someone I obviously wasn't meant to be with from the very beginning, and it's time I let go of him."

Lucas smiled patiently at her. He had heard that speech from her so many times but watched her eat her own words when the simplest, littlest things reminded her of the man who broke her heart. And like all those other times, he replied with a sincere and patient encouragement. "I'm proud of you Hales, I really am. I know it's been tough on you, but you're the strongest girl I know. If anyone could get through something like that, it's got to be you."

The truth was that Lucas knew that Haley was only convincing herself that she was alright. He knew that every night, she thought of her first year in Duke University, and that eventful day during enrolment when everything began – and how she had agreed to do something quite beyond her. Of course, Lucas had been against it all. What best friend wouldn't be? But he obviously had a lapse of judgment. There was a lot more to the flirting, playful banter and casual friendship than Lucas thought. His best friend was in love – with the last person he wanted her to be in love with. The craziest part of it all was that her feelings were reciprocated – it was just – expressed differently.

_Too_ differently.

Haley smiled back, squeezing his arm as a sign of thanks. She sighed, looking around. "Would you believe that we actually survived college? We're actually working now. Me and you – middle-class working people. It's just weird. It seems only yesterday that we built clubhouses on trees and threw rocks at passing cars."

"It _was_ yesterday, at least for you, anyway." Lucas teased her.

Haley made a huffing sound and smacked his shoulder, making him wince. "I bet Brooke would think it's hilarious when I tell her that your middle name is Eugene –"

The rest of her words were muffled by his hand clapped over her mouth. "Hey, I thought you promised you would never say that aloud!"

"I never promised I would. I just said I might."

Lucas sighed. "You're one evil, little girl."

"You know you love me, Luke." Haley said in a singsong voice.

"Unfortunately," he muttered as he helped her fold a few more clothes into a bag. "Hales, you know you're best friend and you love to talk about me –" He grinned when she rolled her eyes. "—But could you please not tell Brooke embarrassing stories about me, especially when you're alone with her? I really like her, and I'm trying to make a good impression here."

Haley smiled, playfully elbowing his side. "You always give good impressions, Luke. I just like to make them sound funnier."

Lucas chuckled as he checked his watch. "We better get going if we want to get there on time. We still have to pick up Brooke, her friend Peyton, and her friend's boyfriend, Jake."

"So why am I a third-wheel again?" Haley asked, raising a brow at him.

He put an arm around her. "Because like you so blatantly put it awhile ago, you know you love me."

She shook her head in exasperation. "The things I do for you, really," she slung her bag over her shoulder and waited for Lucas to pick up her other bag. They walked to the car, Haley climbing into the front seat. Her gaze locked on his, and he smiled reassuringly at her.

"He probably wouldn't even be there."

Haley merely nodded, unable to say anything else. She leaned against the door, her eyes scanning the houses and buildings as the car drove on. It seemed only yesterday when they were kids, playing in the streets of Tree Hill. Then they were in Duke, so hopeful of their dreams. And now, here they were – still unsure of what was ahead of them – unsure of what was going to happen next.

They were going back to Tree Hill as a mere month's worth of vacation, but in Haley's mind, she was going back to face her painful past. She was going back to the lies, just like her mind was going back to where it all began.

**Liked it? Hated it? Please let me know!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you for all the awesome replies, you guys. I know my updates have been way overdue, but life has been so busy that I was never satisfied with anything I wrote. I had some free time tonight and came up with this. I hope you like it!**

As usual, constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated.

**--Sera**

**Disclaimer: **Don't own a thing.

"… _**Let me down …"**_

For most of the first two hours of the car ride, it was pretty silent. Lucas kept glancing at Haley at the corner of his eye every now and then, wondering if she was alright. She was curled up in a ball and her back was turned to him so that her gaze was supposedly out the window.

Lucas desperately wished she would say something – anything. He had tried numerous times to get her to talk about it, but she couldn't. Every time he tentatively brought the topic up, her big, brown eyes would widen and be full of such heart-wrenching pain that he would eventually just desist. Of course there was always the option of just steering away from the topic, but of all people, Lucas knew how even harder it was to keep it all in. It would gnaw her from the inside if she didn't talk about it. He knew that talking about what happened still hurt her immensely – and he honestly couldn't blame her.

Nathan was Haley's first and only love. She had given so much to him – practically everything. Lucas personally thought that Haley had given too much, which explained why she was so broken now. But in a relationship like theirs – with the most unconventional beginning and bitterest ending – one of them was bound to get hurt. Lucas only wished it hadn't been his best friend.

For years, ever since they were little children, he had protected Haley like she was the most fragile and delicate thing in the world. He had screened dates for her, made sure that her prom date wasn't some disgusting pervert, threatened any guy who would inappropriately touch her, told her to go change when her outfit was too short – he had done it all. Lucas felt immensely guilty that he wasn't able to protect Haley when she met Nathan and there she was now, suffering from his mistakes.

Lucas honestly felt he had let her down – that he had let their fifteen-year-long relationship down from one stupid answer of, "Okay."

If only he could take it all back.

"_It's _one _date, Lucas." Haley told him._

"_No, Hales – I mean it." Lucas answered without even looking up from the textbook he was reading. It was barely a month into the semester, but Lucas wanted to get a head start on reading the assigned literature. What had happened to the girl who used to force him to do it?_

"_What the hell, Luke? You're starting to sound like my dad!" Haley exclaimed exasperatedly. When he didn't respond, she cursed under her breath and added, "You're worse than my dad! At least I had friends!"_

_Lucas finally tore his gaze from his textbook and looked up at her. His best friend was so incredibly beautiful in her simple sundress, and she had no idea what effect she had on guys – specifically hormonally-imbalanced college guys. "Haley, there is a big difference between me and the guys at that party. Your dad knows it, and I know it. It's time you do, too."_

"_I am not a kid, Lucas! I am eighteen years old, for chrissakes and I know what I'm doing!" Haley shouted._

"_No, you obviously don't because if you did – you wouldn't be all dressed up for _him_." Lucas spat out the last word of his sentence rather bitterly._

"_His name is Nathan, and he's your brother."_

"_He's dead to me."_

"_You don't even know him like I do. If only you'd give him the chance – give _me_ the chance –" Haley began._

"_Give you the chance?" He repeated incredulously. "Haley, I gave you the chance when I let you agree to what he wants!"_

"_You do not dictate my choices, Lucas! I am tired of you running my life like you own me. I have my own life, and own choices to make – and this is what I choose to do, whether you want me to or not. You can't keep shielding me like some little kid, because it's been years since I've been one. Let me live my life, Lucas. Let me learn from my mistakes." Haley pleaded._

"_That's just it, Haley! This whole thing is a mistake waiting to happen!"_

"_Then let me commit the mistake! Let me deal with it my way – in my terms!"_

"_Don't you mean _his_ terms?" Lucas asked her coldly._

_Haley shook her head at him in disbelief. "You don't know half of it, Lucas. As far as I'm concerned, you can sit there and assume all you want, but I know what I'm getting myself into, and I know what I'm doing."_

_Lucas fixed his gaze intently on her as he slowly asked, "Do you really?"_

_If she was hesitant, her brown eyes did not show it. In fact, there was nothing but certainty and determination in her eyes. "It's one night, Lucas – and if I don't like it, I'll end it right away. I promise."_

_Her gaze was so intense – and full of that stubborn pride Lucas had always been a sucker for – and after a few tense moments, he reluctantly nodded. His voice was almost inaudible as he replied, "Okay."_

The car came to an abrupt halt in front of a rather huge, white house with a wide, neatly trimmed lawn. At first glance, someone would think that the house was deserted because except for the fact that it looked brand new, it was practically untouched.

Lucas did not need to honk the horn because only a few moments after they parked at the sidewalk in front of the house, the front door flew open and instantly, a dark-haired girl happily bounced outside, and once she saw Lucas standing there, she immediately ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms.

Haley slowly got out of the car, rolling her eyes when she saw that the two were already shoving each other's tongues down their throats.

"You have no idea how many times I've done that ever since Brooke and I became friends," remarked a tall, slender girl who just came out from the house. She had blond, curly hair that framed her face and she had a mildly amused look on her face, as if she was already used to seeing the PDA. She had a cool vibe to her, maybe from the leather jacket, or the art materials sticking out from a pocket in her bag. "I'm Peyton."

Haley smiled, taking Peyton's outstretched hand. "I'm Haley."

"Ahh, so _you're_ the oh-so famous Haley. Lucas told me a lot about you," another voice said, completely surprising her. He was rather tall with curly brown hair and warm, dark eyes. He had a laidback feel to him, and Haley instantly knew that they were going to get along great when she spotted the guitar case he was carrying. "I'm Jake. Maybe Lucas has told you about me."

Haley liked how easy-going he was and teased, "Actually, he hasn't mentioned a word about you."

"Hey, that's not true! Don't listen to a word she says!" Lucas suddenly protested right after he quickly pulled away.

The dark-haired girl went up to Haley and flashed a dimpled smile. "You must be Haley – the amazing best friend Lucas talks endlessly about."

"And you must be Brooke – the 'insanely hot girlfriend' Lucas keeps mentioning." Haley said, grinning back.

Brooke clapped her hands together excitedly as she squealed, "Ooh, I love her already. She sits with me in the back!"

Laughing at Brooke's sudden declaration, Haley let her loop her arm into hers, as Peyton did the same on the other side. "Lucas said you used to tutor in high school. I'll call you Tutor Girl from now on."

Peyton chuckled at the confused look on Haley's face. "Brooke likes nicknames."

"Correction – I _own_ nicknames, Goldilocks."

Peyton cringed. "Like that one,"

Lucas couldn't help but appreciate the smile on his best friend's face, and the sound of her laughter. It felt like years since he had seen or heard it.

But just as quickly as it came, it disappeared when Haley's eyes fell on the sprinkler system in Brooke's lawn. The mere act of watching the water fall on the grass brought sudden tears into Haley's eyes, giving her the same old sickening feeling at the pit of her gut. As much as she tried not to think about it, the memories came flooding like water from an open dam.

_Nathan and Haley were lying on the blanket spread out on the grass of the football field, kissing passionately as water from the sprinkler system fell on them. Neither of them knew how long they had been kissing, or if anyone saw them._

_Haley pulled away, breathless as she wiped off the water from his face. She gently cradled the side of his face with one hand as she gazed into his beautiful, blue orbs. "I love you, Nathan."_

_And like all the other times she said it, she was met by a sudden, cold gaze and disturbing silence._

**Liked it? Hated it? Please tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey all! So somebody asked me the timeline of when exactly Nathan and Haley met and started dating. All I can tell you is that they met during Haley's enrollment in freshman year, and the rest will unfold from there. Thank you for all the reviews; they were awesome. Please keep them coming! Love you guys.**

**--Sera**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Don't own a thing.

"…_**When you and I collide…"**_

There was a law in Physics somewhere that said that when two opposing forces collided, they would ricochet off each other. Which was typically true – in most cases, anyway – because that wasn't what Haley and Nathan were. They were more like opposing poles on a magnet – one was always attracted to the other.

Because in the entire time that they were dating, one was always chasing the other. There was hardly ever a time that they both just went for each other. Perhaps it was the thrill of the chase – the challenge and the mystery that kept the other wanting more. Whatever it was, it perplexed people. No one ever expected Nathan Scott to be with someone like Haley James, and no one expected Haley James to be dating her best friend's half-brother.

But no one knew what was really going on.

And the plain old truth was; neither did Nathan and Haley.

_Back home, things were different – a lot different. Back home, Haley couldn't have gotten that kind of attention. No one would be staring at her while she walked down the hall. No one would gawk at her the way they did now. No one would audibly mutter all sorts of stuff as she passed by. No one would even know her name. But then again, back home – she didn't have Nathan Scott's arm around her shoulders._

_It was funny, because Haley was never the kind of girl to be reveling in attention. She would much rather disappear into the crowd. But things were different now – far from her world back in Tree Hill._

_Back there, no one knew who Haley James was. She was probably just the "small girl with Lucas Scott" or "Tutor Girl" as she was affectionately called by the people whom she helped pass. In other words, she was nothing more than just a "girl."_

_Only now, she was no longer just a girl. She was Nathan Scott's girl, which wasn't exactly a bad thing – and it certainly wasn't a good thing for most people, especially Lucas. He was clearly opposed to it as he glared at them from across the hallway._

"_Oh, here we go," muttered Nathan in a rather unpleasant snarl when Lucas marched up to them. "Don't you have somewhere to be right now? Or do you want to be humiliated all over again?"_

_Lucas pointedly ignored him and directed his attention to Haley. His voice was surprisingly calm – but there was no denying the intense displeasure in his eyes. "This is a joke."_

"_You're the joke," threw Nathan, his arms suddenly – almost instinctively – pulling Haley closer to his side. For a moment, even he looked surprised at what he did but it disappeared as quickly as it came._

"_I don't believe I was talking to you." Lucas said between tightly gritted teeth, obviously trying to control his temper._

"_You are now. What are you going to do about it? Quote some lame-ass saying to me?"_

"_Why don't you just get to class and get to failing like you always do? I have to talk to Haley."_

"_Afraid to talk to me?"_

"_What are you, her spokesperson now? Or is talking for her part of your deal?" Lucas demanded, practically spitting out the last word as if it tasted horrible._

"_Who knows? Maybe her mouth will have other purposes," Nathan taunted, a full-blown cocky smirk on his face, knowing he had touched a nerve._

_Haley's sudden angry objection was drowned by Lucas' angrier response. He looked like he had just about had enough as he roughly pushed Nathan's chest, making him stagger backward and Haley to stumble slightly to the side. "You fucking asshole –"_

"_Stop it, both of you!" Haley shouted sharply. She turned to Nathan. "You are acting like an immature four-year-old in a playground. Grow up and get to class. I don't want to see you right now," she then turned to Lucas. "You – we need to talk."_

_Haley grabbed Lucas' arm and dragged him to the nearest empty classroom. She let go of him and as soon as he turned to face her, she started, "You are not acting the way you promised me you would."_

"_Neither are you," replied Lucas curtly._

"_Lucas,"_

_The look on Haley's face seemed to make his then-adamant resolve to break. "Okay, I'm sorry. But I fully intended to not talk to him. I talked to you, remember? Then he just had to act like the bastard he is."_

"_I told you to get along with him, not ignore him."_

"_Didn't you just see us? What you want is never going to happen. The way I see it, the only way we're ever going to 'get along' is if we don't speak to each other."_

"_You weren't making any effort!"_

"_So were he, and I don't see you grilling him." Lucas pointed out._

_Haley sighed in exasperation. "Stop picking fights with him. That's all I ask."_

"_I didn't plan on picking any fight with him! I'm actually tired of dealing with the asshole! And he made me do it – you heard what he said about you. I can't believe you're taking his side after what he said."_

"_I am not taking his side!"_

"_Yeah, you are! Look at you, Hales. You're practically insinuating that all of this is my fault, but you never considered that it's his. Have you ever thought how hard it is to be me – watching him play you, use you to get what he wants, and now – you're blinded! You're completely unaware of what he's doing. You're practically attached to his hip whenever I see you!"_

"_You know why I have to do this." Haley said angrily._

"_You're going too far! And you know what I said is true – you didn't even slap him for what he said about you!"_

"_I heard what he said, Lucas. But unlike you, I chose to let it go."_

"_Are you sleeping with him?" Lucas asked, his voice almost helpless and strangled._

_Haley hesitated and her eyes immediately filled with tears when Lucas shook his head at her in disappointment. "Luke, it's not what you think!"_

"_I don't know what to think anymore." He replied coldly._

"_How could you not believe me, Luke?!" Haley shouted, fighting to stop the tears from falling._

_Before she could say anything else, he shouted back, "You hesitated, Haley! You practically waved a yes sign in front of me!"_

"_That doesn't mean anything! Lucas, the choices I make may be questionable for you, but I am not sleeping with him. It's like we haven't known each other practically our whole lives – like you don't even know me."_

_Lucas gave her a grim look as he mournfully replied, "You're right. I don't know you anymore."_

* * *

_Haley was seated outside, her face buried in her hands when she heard a voice ask, "Het, how'd it go? Are you okay?"_

_She instantly recognized who it was, and she didn't need to look up to make sure. Instead, she asked, "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"_

"_Aren't you?" Nathan asked her, taking a seat next to her._

"_I don't have class until the next fifteen minutes, and you didn't answer my question. Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Haley's head was up but she wasn't looking at him._

"_It's some stupid history lesson. I can just wing it on our next long test." Nathan replied airily._

_Haley was directly looking at him now, concern filled in her wet eyes. "Nathan, you cannot keep skipping classes like this. Your grades are as bad enough as they are."_

"_Look, it's no big deal. If they fail me, I won't be able to play in the next games, and they can't do that because we'll obviously lose." Nathan answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

"_Nathan, basketball may give you everything now, but it won't out in the real world."_

"_It will once I'm in the NBA. Haven't you ever seen MTV Cribs?"_

_Nathan's mischievous grin annoyed Haley as she rolled her eyes at him. "I don't have time for this right now."_

"_Sure you do. You just said fifteen minutes, right? Well, you still have twelve left."_

_Haley was getting more exasperated. One annoying Scott was enough for one day. "Okay, skip class. In fact, skip the whole day for all I care. I'm not in the mood for this."_

"_Mood for what?"_

"_I'm not in the mood for acting boyfriend-girlfriend, alright? So you can just go run along and screw some random girl for the rest of the day like you always do, and leave me alone." Haley told him._

"_Maybe I don't want to do that."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Maybe I want to talk with you."_

_Haley actually snorted at this point. "Please. Talking to me or getting a free pass to have sex to someone who'll actually let you – I know you, Nathan. I know what you want."_

_Nathan clearly wasn't amused. "I want to make sure you're okay."_

_If Haley was taken aback by his answer, she didn't show it. "Nathan, I am fine. I don't need to talk about anything, okay?"_

"_No, you're not. You were crying when I got here, and it seems to me like you need someone to talk to." Nathan insisted._

_Haley glanced at her wristwatch. "Well, even if I did, I wouldn't have the time anymore, because I have to get to class."_

"_Then don't go to class."_

"_Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"_

"_Yeah, Haley James. And the way I see it, your issues can't be talked about in the remaining five of the fifteen minutes you have left, or during your English class." Nathan said._

"_I don't skip class." Haley stated flatly._

"_You said you don't date either, and here we are." Nathan said, his grin cockier than before._

_Haley couldn't resist another eye-roll. "Nathan, not everyone is the star player of the Duke Blue Devils like you. Not everyone can skip a class and get away with it."_

_Nathan dismissed this with a careless wave of his hand. "You're Tutor Girl, remember? If you miss one class, it's like staying home with no homework on Sunday to you. It's just English. The last time I checked, you speak English really good."_

"_Really well," corrected Haley._

"_See, no problem at all."_

_Nathan's triumphant smile wasn't helping. It was like he had already won, and to be quite honest, he almost was. Haley considered what he said for a moment. She needed a break from school, after all. And she wasn't quite sure of what she would do if she ran into Lucas in campus. She knew that she was supposed to be looking for Lucas, ask for an apology, or just talk to him. But the stubborn part of herself refused to do it. If anything, Lucas was the one who was supposed to be apologizing, not her. "Just one class?"_

_His grin widened. "One class, and I'll get you back here on time."_

"_One class," she repeated firmly, and when he nodded, she led the way to the parking lot towards his car. "And wipe that stupid smirk off your face. I'm getting really tired of seeing it."_

"_Just admit it, Hales. You think it's hot." Nathan teased._

_Haley was glad that her back was turned to him, because she couldn't prevent herself from blushing at the truth. "This better be worth my time."_

"_Oh, it will. I promise."_

* * *

"So, what do you think?" A voice asked her.

Haley was browsing the shelves of the gas station's convenience store, and when she lifted her head, she saw Lucas standing on the other side of the shelf, peering at her over the bags of potato chips. "That depends – what am I supposed to be thinking of?"

"Them – Brooke – her friends," replied Lucas in a rather impatient tone.

Haley tore her gaze away from him and returned to scanning the shelf. She merely shrugged in reply. "They're alright, I guess."

Lucas sighed as he went over to Haley's side of the shelf. "Okay, for someone who is supposed to be an English and Music major, I expected better adjectives. 'Alright' doesn't really do it for me."

Haley laughed, amused at Lucas' obvious anxiety and nerves. "I'm sorry – I'm just having a really hard time choosing here. We won't be there in a couple more hours, and I want something that will last me until we get there."

Without looking at the shelf, Lucas took a random box and handed it to her. "Here – take this. I'm your best friend, so I'd know what you really want without even looking at it."

Haley rolled her eyes at him. "You randomly guessed it, so that doesn't –" The rest of her words were cut off by her sudden sharp intake of breath when her gaze fell on the box in her hands. It was a Crackerjack box. She felt the familiar twisting of her guts and the heave on her heart as memories came flooding back all over again. When Haley looked back up at Lucas, his eyes were full of guilt.

"Hales – I didn't mean to –"

"I'll be right back." Haley managed to say in a small voice. And without another word, she went out of the convenience store and back into the empty car.

Lucas helplessly watched her walk away and sighed. He hated the fact that every little thing reminded her of Nathan, which only made her more miserable practically every ten seconds. He didn't know how to get through to her. It was like she had built a protective wall around her, and no one – not even him – could get in.

"Is she always like that?"

Lucas turned to see Brooke standing next to him, watching Haley as well. Her pretty features looked genuinely concerned. "What do you mean?"

"She's always drifting off to her own world. One moment she's bubbly and funny, and the next, she's gone all quiet and depressed. What's going on?" Brooke asked him. When Lucas hesitated, Brooke sighed and continued, "Look, it may come as a surprise to you, but I actually like her – and it bothers me as much as everyone else, particularly you, to see her that way. I just want to know what's wrong."

"She still has feelings for someone." He answered.

"Since when?"

"Since our first year in college."

"So why is she still hung up on the guy?"

"Because she fell in love with him," replied Lucas, his gaze falling back on the Crackerjack box. An inexplicable feeling of guilt, sadness and anger twisted with him as he kept himself from crushing the box in his hand. "The craziest part is that he fell in love with her, too."


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! So a lot of you have been having doubts about Nathan and Haley's relationship. All I can tell you is that answers will come in due time. Just so you know, the flashback here is a continuation of the one in the previous chapter. Thanks for the reviews, and please keep them coming!**

**--Sera**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing

_**I fall into an ocean of you**_

"Hey buddy,"

Haley looked up from the floor, smiling at Lucas, who joined her on the grass. They were in one of their rest stops, mostly due to Brooke's insistence that they "stop to enjoy the view" while she went shopping in shops they passed by. It was quite alright for everyone because no one seemed to be in a hurry to get to Tree Hill – especially Haley. She knew Lucas promised her that Nathan wouldn't be there, but she had this odd gut feeling in her that he would be. Somehow, the more they got closer to Tree Hill, the stronger her gut feeling was. Haley was seated on the grass in the small park in one of the towns they were passing by, the earphones of her iPod placed snugly in her ears.

"How's the music?" He asked her.

"I'm not – listening to anything. I'd like to, but I'm too distracted by other things. So I'm just feigning this," replied Haley, taking off the earphones and staring at them lying in her lap. "Listen, Luke – I know I haven't exactly been the most welcoming best friend you made me sound to Brooke and her friends. I'm really sorry. It's just – I thought I had buried Nathan in my past, and I thought that a trip back to Tree Hill wouldn't affect me anymore, but I had no idea it would include a trip back to memory lane."

Lucas put an arm around Haley, pulling her into a comforting hug. "It's partly my fault, Hales. I haven't exactly been the most supportive best friend. Maybe I was, none of it would have happened."

"I doubt that, Luke. What happened between me and Nathan was beyond your control or mine. No matter what, it would have happened." Haley said glumly.

He hugged her tighter. "I wish I could have prevented it, though."

"I never let you. I was too stubborn for my own good." She said, her voice fully of regret.

"Why Haley James, you're not trying to steal my boyfriend from me, are you?" Brooke's teasing voice suddenly asked, interrupting them. The pair looked up to see Brooke and Peyton standing in front of them.

Haley made a disgusted face, disentangling herself from Lucas' grasp. "Okay, _ew_. You can have him."

Lucas shook his head exasperatedly. "Where's Jake?"

"He's in the car. You better go and join him while we bond," answered Peyton, pointing to their car parked a few meters away from them. As soon as Lucas was gone, they joined Haley on the grass as Peyton asked, "So what's your deal, Haley?"

"What do you mean?"

"She wants to get to know you," explained Brooke. "And so do I."

Haley merely shrugged. "I don't know where to begin."

"Well, how about you start with who exactly is this Nathan person?" When Haley looked at Peyton, surprised, she quickly pointed to Brooke, who quickly pointed to the car.

"I am going to kill Lucas," muttered Haley under her breath.

"Oh come on Hales, it's not that bad. I mean, we've all had our shares of ex-boyfriends like him. We know what it's like." Peyton chided, nudging her.

"Is it pathetic that after all these years, I still pine for him? I mean, it's not like we've had the best memories to give me a good reason to pine. He was a jerk, as Lucas never fails to mention."

"You must have _some_ good memories with him. Otherwise, you wouldn't be feeling this way," Brooke said, smiling encouragingly. "There should be at least one good memory somewhere in all the bad ones."

Haley hesitated for a moment. She had never been the type to let someone in, aside from Lucas. Hell, she was still having trouble letting Lucas in at times. She was perfectly content with her own thoughts and worries – she always had been. There was no reason for her to let anyone else in, especially two of whom she barely even knew. Haley had her reasons why she hardly let people in, but probably the biggest reason why was because the last person she let in broke her heart.

So what was the risk that her two newfound friends would break it again?

"_At what point of this car drive are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" Haley asked Nathan._

_They had been driving in complete silence for almost half an hour. Haley usually had no problem with silence, but she was starting to wonder where they were going. She had never been to the outskirts of the city, and she was getting worried._

"_We're almost there." Nathan answered vaguely, not taking his eyes off the road._

"_Well I, for one, would like to know where 'there' is," said Haley, her arms crossing over her chest as she surveyed him. He didn't reply, making her huff in annoyance. "This isn't as worth my time as I thought it would be."_

"_Would you please …" His voice trailed off, shaking his head in exasperation._

_The rest of the car drive was silent until they reached what seemed to be a cliff at the end of the road overlooking a breathtaking view of the city._

_Haley stepped out of the car, completely in awe of the view. "Wow, this is incredible," she breathed, completely forgetting her previous annoyance with Nathan._

"_It's even better from here," his voice added from behind her. She spun around to see him seated rather comfortably on the hood of his car. He patted a spot next to him, motioning for her to join him._

_Haley took his outstretched hand, trying to ignore the sudden jolt of electricity between them when their hands touched. An unexpected thrill raced up her spine as she tried to keep her face as blank as possible. She looked up at him – wondering if he felt it, too – but his expression was vacant. She could not help but feel disappointed at the revelation, but she figured that it was about time she got used to it, anyway. He helped her up on the hood, his gaze noticeably directed at the view._

_They sat in silence for a few minutes until Haley could not take it anymore and blurted out, "This view is killer and all, but if you're going to ignore me for the rest of this trip, then I should've just stayed in Duke and talked to Lucas."_

_The mention of his brother's name seemed to have touched a nerve because Nathan had a sudden testy look on his face. His voice sounded oddly sincere when he quietly said, "I'm sorry."_

"_Lucas would've said more." Haley challenged, hoping to somehow coax more words from him._

"_Will you stop comparing me to him? People do it all the time. I don't need to hear you do it." Nathan said angrily._

"_Why do you hate Lucas so much?" She demanded. "He hasn't done anything to you."_

"_Except take my spot on the team."_

"_He didn't do that on purpose!"_

"_He tried out for _my_ spot on the team, Haley. And now he has my spot, and he'll probably have my team, too." Nathan said between tightly gritted teeth, his hands curling into fists._

"_You're determined to hate him," declared Haley, shaking her head in disbelief. "Lucas wasn't even expecting to get in. He just tried out, and he was just as surprised as you were when he got in. Face it Nathan, you're running out of reasons to hate him."_

"_He has you." Nathan said, his voice so quiet that it was almost unnatural._

_Haley's heart did an unexpected back flip. She wasn't quite sure if she heard right, but Nathan couldn't even meet her gaze. She tried to crack a joke to lighten the sudden heavy tension between them, almost as if what he just said had no effect on her whatsoever. "This isn't a notorious make-out spot, is it?" _

"_We could make it into one," said Nathan, his cobalt eyes suddenly twinkling mischievously. It was odd how he could change his moods so easily as if nothing happened. "What do you say, girlfriend?"_

_Haley had always been the type of girl who weighed her options before doing or deciding anything, and right now, her brain was rapidly analyzing the pros and cons of the situation._

_Nathan's smirk was challenging, daring her to kiss him – taunting and teasing her, trying to see how far she would go. But when Haley dragged her gaze to his eyes, they were smoldering – so intense that she suddenly doubted if she could do this. "I'm waiting, Hales. Go or no,"_

"_What do you get if I say no?"_

"_The free card to hover it above you every chance I get. Plus, I get to see you squirm if I tease you about it. That's always a turn-on."_

_His words were certainly working – not only in convincing Haley to kiss him, but also making her uncomfortable. "And if I say yes?"_

"_You'll just have to find out when we're done."_

"_You really think your taunting is going to work on me?"_

"_I can already see it working on you," said Nathan, his smirk widening. "One kiss, Haley. Technically, it's what we're supposed to be doing – since we're dating now."_

_Trembling, Haley placed her arms around his neck, moving her face closer to his. She could feel his hot breath on her cheek, his lips lightly touching her skin and her heart rate instantly sped up at the mere contact._

"_You're shaking, Hales," whispered Nathan. "Are you sure you're up to this?"_

_Truthfully, she wasn't, but she certainly wasn't going to let him know that. There was no way he could tease and taunt her, and then get away with it. Haley pulled him closer to her by the collar, and lightly brushed her lips against his. The lightest contact made her dizzy with sudden desire for more. She kissed him again, this time making sure to nip at his lips. Nathan couldn't suppress a low groan, giving her the opportunity to tug at his bottom lip with her teeth as she pulled away._

_Realization dawned on her. This wasn't who she was, and this certainly wasn't something she was good at. Who was she trying to kid – thinking that Nathan Scott actually enjoyed that kiss, when she knew nothing – absolutely nothing about kissing? She was so nervous, so worried at what he thought about her that she immediately got down from the hood and starting to pace the ground, looking anywhere but at him._

_Haley felt his fingers curl around her wrist, spinning her around to face him. "I'm sorry Nathan, but the truth is – I don't know much about this, and I know you have a past that worries me more than –"_

_Nathan pulled her against him and kissed her again, drowning out the rest of her words. His tongue pried her lips open as his tongue went in search for hers, making her gasp into his mouth. Haley was so dazed by the way their kiss was making her feel that every other thought or worry she had was gone. She responded hungrily to every eager thrust of his tongue – every electrifying touch as he explored her sweet crevices – losing herself completely in the kiss she denied herself before. They shared one hot, passionate kiss after another, her fingers curling into his thick, dark hair to pull him even closer to her._

_When air became an issue, Nathan gently pulled away, surprised that even he was breathless. That was probably the hottest kiss he had ever had in his entire life, and he felt like an adolescent again, getting turned on by just the thoughts of kissing. His entire body ached for more of her, but he pushed away those thoughts when he saw how flustered she was. "You alright?" He asked her worriedly._

_Haley nodded mutely, still feeling the aftereffects of the kiss they shared. She was getting lightheaded so he let her lean into him as he wrapped his arms around her waist._

_The tension between them was gone, and Haley felt a strange sense of comfort in Nathan's arms. He had never held her that way, and it was something Haley secretly wished he did more often. Their relationship was complicated – more complicated than anyone gave them credit for._

"_Maybe we should skip class all the time," joked Nathan. "I'd rather be making out with you than studying history. Much more fun."_

"_Nathan!" Haley admonished, unable to hide a blush from his words. "We are not skipping class again."_

"_Okay, but can we make out again?" Nathan asked, grinning lopsidedly at her._

_Haley knew an offer like that was too good to resist and the only way to avoid it was to turn away. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he refused to let go of her waist, pulling her back so she would rest her back on his chest. "What's on your mind, James?"_

_Just the way Nathan held her to him – the way his entire length was pressed into hers was making Haley lose her train of thought. She pushed any questionable fantasies of kissing Nathan out of her mind, and quietly answered, "Lucas."_

_His entire body stiffened and his voice was noticeably tighter. But she still appreciated the fact that he was trying. "What about him?"_

"_I feel like I'm losing him, Nathan," said Haley, her voice starting to tremble. "I feel like we're drifting apart, ever since –" Her voice drifted off rather guiltily. She held her breath, awaiting the angry response from him. She didn't mean to say that it was his fault, even if it were true. The thought just kept on bothering her, and it had somehow slipped out._

"_Ever since me," finished Nathan, his voice strangely calm. He didn't seem to be mad at all – more of guilty. "He really doesn't want you with me."_

"_You never gave him a reason to think otherwise. All you did ever since he got to Duke was to treat him like shit, and all he wanted to do was get through his four years here without having to mess with you. He never wanted to have anything to do with you for all those years he knew you existed, and he sure as hell didn't want it now."_

_Nathan didn't answer, but his grasp on her was tightening._

"_Lucas is a pretty decent guy, Nathan, and you have more in common than just blood and surnames," encouraged Haley. She turned around to face him, which took quite some time because she had to disentangle herself from his tight hold on her waist. "And somehow, amidst all the bull that's been happening between the both of you, we got together. Lucas clearly isn't happy with it, and the least you could do is to convince him that we're doing the right thing."_

"_I heard your fight with him awhile ago. I heard the whole thing, Hales – and it's been bothering me all day," said Nathan truthfully. "You're an incredibly good person for giving me a second look, despite whatever bullshit Lucas has been telling you about me. And whether I like it or not, you and he have been best friends practically all your lives and you'll probably be best friends for the rest of it."_

"_So you'll stop treating him like dirt?" Haley asked hopefully._

"_How about we start small? I don't taunt him when you're around." Nathan suggested._

"_But you'll still taunt him all the same?" She asked him, her brow raised._

"_Okay, wrong idea. How about I just keep my distance from him? That will lessen the risk of me beating his ass anyway," he cringed at the angry glare Haley gave him. "Oh, you know what I mean, Hales."_

"_Well, it's a start."_

"_The hell it is," he muttered. "It's a lot to give up, Hales."_

"_You need to practice to not be an ass, anyway." Haley told him curtly._

_Nathan fell silent for a moment. "You should talk to him when we get back to Duke – get your friendship back with him. I don't like seeing you with him as much as he doesn't like seeing you with me, but if this whole thing is going to work, I suppose I have to set aside a few of my differences with him."_

_She did not answer immediately, too stunned to say anything._

"_Hales, I don't like seeing you upset when you have a fight with him, and if there is a way for me to prevent that, I will – even if it's not what I want. Believe it or not, I value friendship a lot, and it looks to me like you do, too. I don't want to be the cause of the rift between you two anymore."_

"_What – made you decide to do that?"_

_He shrugged. "I don't know, but spending today with you – it changed something."_

"_It sure did," murmured Haley, her eyes closed as she tried to ignore the rapid thumping of her heart against her chest and the overwhelming feeling she had in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't understand or put a finger on. When she opened them again, his eyes were nervously fixed on the view again, as if fixatedly trying to ignore her. "Will you take me back now – maybe to Lucas' dorm? I would like to talk to him."_

"_Sure," he replied gruffly, stepping away from her. He watched her get into the car, and with one last glance at the view, he followed suit. The rest of the drive was filled with unbearable silence until they reached the driveway leading to Lucas' dormitory building. After pointedly keeping his eyes on the road the entire trip, he turned to Haley. "Here we are."_

"_Yeah …" She said quietly. "This was – fun, to say the least. We should uh, do this again sometime."_

"_You mean skip class?" Nathan asked her, the corners of his mouth twitching._

_Haley smiled. "How about this weekend, so we won't get in trouble?"  
_

"_I'll pick you up at eight." He promised her._

_She nodded and stepped out of the car. She was just about to walk away when she found herself turning around to face him again. "Thank you, Nathan. For what you've done – and for what you're going to do. It means a lot."_

_Nathan didn't say anything, only nodding his head in reply. Without looking back at him, Haley walked away and into the building. Nathan's eyes followed Haley's silhouette to what seemed to be a hallway leading to the left side of the building. He saw her clearly through an open window as she threw herself into Lucas' arms, burying her face into his chest._

_Nathan's arm tightly gripped the steering wheel, his jaw so firmly set that it almost hurt. An unexpected wave of jealousy coursed through him, something he didn't want to feel – especially to Haley. He shouldn't be having those feelings for her, and there he was, sitting like a pathetic and jealous pansy in his car while he watched his girlfriend with the guy he had loathed all his life._

_Reluctantly, he tore his gaze away from them and drove away, not knowing that as Haley hugged Lucas, her eyes were on his car – watching it roar and leave a dusty trail in its path._

"Had fun bonding?" Lucas asked Haley as she got into the backseat of the car.

She glanced at Brooke and Peyton, and for the first time in how long, she gave Lucas a confident smile. "I'm not worried about Tree Hill anymore. Whatever happens – happens, right? I can face it."

He linked his arm with hers, glancing up at Jake, Peyton and Brooke. "We all can."


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry this chapter took ages. It was already written a week ago but school has been really busy for me so I had no time at all. Don't worry, I'm not losing any interest in this. Oh, this chapter is a flashback so I've added a date in the beginning to avoid confusion. So anyway, thanks for the awesome reviews and please keep them coming!**

**--Sera**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

_**I should be much too smart for this**_

_September, 5 years ago_

Haley was having another one of those days that seemed like everything was going wrong. In just over a time span of an hour, she had forgotten her keys inside her dorm, spilled coffee all over the research paper she had slaved over for hours last night, misplaced her wallet and now, she was late for English. And it was barely past nine. She wondered with dread how the rest of her day was going to be.

She frantically paced the floor outside the classroom where English class was supposed to be held, checking her wrist watch every two minutes and silently computing how much time she had left before her rather strict English professor marked her absent. After glancing at her watch, she would look around the hallway, hoping to see Lucas' tall figure any moment now, striding towards her to give her another printed copy of her research. Haley would've printed it herself if she didn't have four straight classes that morning.

"Are you going to just pace the floor all day? I need to get to class," a voice asked, interrupting her thoughts. She recognized that voice – that deep, cocky voice that always sent shivers down every girl's spine just hearing it.

Well, every girl except Haley. She looked up at him, and saw the very good-looking face of Nathan Scott, the practically-permanent smirk on his face. She gazed at him, an incredulous look on her face. "_You're_ taking Literature? What other thing have you actually read aside from your porn and sports magazines?"

"You underestimate me, James. Why is it so hard for you to believe that I actually like Literature?" Nathan asked her.

"Because for all I know, you're being forced to take this, and you're purposely being late so you'd accumulate so many marks that you'd get kicked out of the subject." Haley answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, James," remarked Nathan, obviously impressed.

"No, I just know a lot of guys like you – not in the romantic sense – more of the professional sense because I tutored seemingly-hopeless and arrogant jocks like you back when I was in high school, and you are all –" Haley rambled until realization dawned on her face. She glared up at him. "Why am I even telling you this? I hate you."

"Careful now, that's what every girl tells me before we have sex."

Haley made a repulsed face at him before taking a few steps back away from him. "It is so like you to give disgusting comments like that," she was beginning to find the amused expression on his face annoying. "Haven't we already established the fact that you're not really taking this class?"

"No, we already established the fact that I'm here against my will," corrected Nathan. "If you're such an English freak, why are you even outside the classroom?"

Haley checked her watch again, sighing in frustration. "I'm waiting for your dim-witted brother. He was supposed to meet me here fifteen minutes ago."

"Well, at least we agree on one thing – he's dim-witted." He grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't call him that," she snapped.

"Why not? You get to call him dim-witted, but I can't?"

"I have the best friend privilege to call him whatever I want. You're the self-absorbed jerk of a brother who isn't allowed to be within ten feet of him." Haley told him.

"So you two aren't dating?"

She made a face. "Ew, no! Why do people keep saying that?"

"Well, you're with him practically all the time and you two clearly have something else going on – unless you two are like, best friends with benefits or something, which would explain why you haven't slept me with yet."

Haley's jaw dropped before she furiously swatted his arm. "You know, only someone as daft as you would say something as disgusting as that."

Nathan merely shrugged. "I've been called worse."

"Yeah, I bet," muttered Haley, shaking her head. "Why are you even talking to me? You haven't once talked to me since enrollment, and I don't see any reason why you should be talking to me now."

"I talked to you during enrollment because I knew you'd ignore basketball enough not to know who I am. And also because I knew Lucas was watching us, and I wanted to piss him off. And I'm talking to you now because it's much more fun than pretending to be interested in Shakespeare."

Haley looked up at him, a rather disappointed look in her eyes. "You know what Nathan, when we had a notch-near-decent conversation during enrollment, I knew who you were and I was trying to convince myself that maybe you're not the asshole Lucas is always trying to convince me you are. And then we have this conversation now, and I'm beginning to doubt everything I thought about you. I'm honestly still trying to convince myself that you have even one shred of decency in you – and so far, you're proving me wrong."

Suddenly, a familiar voice from down the hallway called out, "Hales?"

Haley bent to pick up her bag from the floor. Swinging it over her shoulder, she looked back at Nathan. Her voice was as strangely calm as before, as if she was talking about the weather. But her words were anything but casual. "I could call you worse things, but that would make me like every girl who wakes up next to you in the morning and truth be told, that's the last thing I'll ever want to be."

Nathan watched her wake away, her stinging words still ringing in his ears – even all throughout English as he watched the small but feisty blond seated a few rows in front of him.

* * *

Haley walked down the hallway leading to Lucas' dorm room, carrying their usual breakfast before their classes began. She knocked a few times and waited for his answer but when there was none, she took out the spare key he gave her a few weeks ago and let herself in.

"Luke? Are you here? I have breakfast," called out Haley.

"I'm in here," his muffled voice called back, coming from the bathroom.

When she walked in, she was surprised to see him furiously washing off what seemed to be mud from his basketball jersey. "Did you fall into a ditch?"

"No, more like I was pushed in," replied Lucas stiffly as he tried to scrub the offending stain off. When Haley looked at him confusingly, he sighed and added, "We were having one of our early morning practices. Nathan and the rest of the team thought it would be funny to push me into a hole full of mud and then tell Coach K I tripped."

Haley didn't know if she should feel sorry or feel furious. "He did _what_?!"

"It's no big deal, Hales – I mean, it's nothing compared to what they did the other day –" Lucas froze when he saw the look on her face. "Hales –"

"How often do they do this?" Haley demanded.

"Not very often," mumbled Lucas, averting his gaze. "Hales, it's really not a big deal. The other guy said that they do this to every new guy on the team."

"But they didn't do it to Nathan, did they?"

"He's better than everyone else on the team."

"Yeah, he _thinks_ he is," corrected Haley. "Lucas, why do you let them walk all over you? Back home, you would have never let anyone treat you that way."

"Yeah, well things change, Hales. It's not as easy as it used to be."

"Well if you won't do anything about it, I will."

"Haley, I'm not going to let you fight my battles for me. For one thing, this is my problem – not yours. And for another, how would I look to them, having my best friend who is a girl to be fighting for my battles?"

"You wouldn't look as much as an idiot as you already do now," she told him curtly. "You're my best friend, Luke and I can't let them treat you like shit. You couldn't possibly love basketball more than you love your dignity."

"It's _nothing_, Hales. I can deal with this."

"This is not 'nothing' and you know it. I'm going to have a word with Nathan, and nothing you can say or do is going to stop me." Haley began to walk out of the room, ignoring Lucas' pleas for her to stop. She went straight to the place where she was absolutely certain he was.

Sure enough, when Haley entered the basketball gym, Nathan was in there alone, shooting free throws. She went up to him and spun him around. Before she could say anything, a look of relief washed over his face. "James, it's you. Listen, there's something I need to talk to you about –"

"You asshole!"

"Have I slept with you already? I don't really remember," said Nathan, frowning.

"I don't have time for your one-tracked mind, Nathan. I need to know why you're hazing Lucas, and I need you to stop it right now."

"Oh, so he came crying to you now?" He asked, grinning at her.

"No, he hasn't. On the contrary, I went to his dormitory today and found him washing off filthy mud stains on his basketball uniform because according to him, you and your band of idiots thought it would be fun to push him into a ditch."

"Well, it _was_ fun," defended Nathan.

"Just because you're Mister I'm-A-Big-Basketball-Star doesn't mean you have to treat new recruits like shit, especially someone who has the poor misfortune of being related to you! I don't care if everyone here worships the ground you walk on or that your word is law, because as far as Lucas is concerned, you better stay the hell away from him."

"James, I don't give a damn if he's related to me or not. The hazing is sort of like an initiation for rookies. It's just a lot worse for him because I hate him." Nathan answered simply.

"And yet somehow, you weren't hazed. I thought it was an initiation for rookies?" Haley challenged.

"So I'm an exception to the rule. Lucky me," replied Nathan sarcastically.

Haley suddenly realized where this conversation was going. She sighed in defeat. "What do I have to do so you'll lay off him?"

"Funny thing you should ask that, James," he grinned at her, his cobalt eyes twinkling mischievously. "I really you to do something for me, and it's not what you're thinking."


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Here's the latest update, which I surprisingly was able to finish despite all the schoolwork. I'm so sorry if my updates have been anything but regular, but I really appreciate all the support and feedback. They are the greatest. You might recognize a familiar scene here, which I tweaked a bit to fit the storyline. Anyway, enjoy and feedback is encouraged. Hee.**

**--Sera**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

The night had a rather eerie calm as Haley stepped out onto the balcony of their hotel room. They had been on the road for several hours and when it was starting to get too dark, Peyton had suggested that they all rent a room in the nearest hotel for the night – which was good, considering Jake and Lucas, their designated drivers, were starting to nod in exhaustion. Peyton admitted to not having a very good driving record and Brooke – well, no one wanted her to get in the wheel, especially Lucas. Haley had mostly slept throughout the trip so it was no surprise now that she could no longer sleep.

The sudden rush of cool breeze fanned her face as she loosely tied her hair in a messy ponytail and with the extra blanket she snagged when no one was looking, she curled up on the bench outside, the blanket wrapped around her tiny frame. She winced in discomfort when she felt something rather hard and bulky in her jeans pocket and she reached in to see what it was.

Haley felt her heartbeat skid to a stop when she saw a multicolored plastic bracelet that usually came from Crackerjack boxes. As if in a trance, she rolled it over hand and onto her wrist, staring at the brightly colored plastic charms around her wrist. She ran a finger over the bracelet, as if it was the most fragile object she had ever touched – almost afraid that if she believed it was there … that it was real and she was actually wearing it … the bracelet would disappear. It was pretty much the same scenario with her and Nathan. She had let herself believe in something she had thought was real and intact enough to open herself up to – and when she had, it slipped away, leaving nothing but painful memories that still haunted her.

"_Breakfast of champions," he had greeted her before taking his seat. Haley had rolled her eyes when he said it with that stupid smirk on his face again, as if he was so confident and proud that he had made her agree to do this. Please, she wasn't doing this for him. She made sure he knew that. It was just frustrating that that simple fact couldn't be ingrained into that incessantly thick skull of his._

_She stole a glance at him from behind the text book she was reading, and felt her stomach do a somersault when her gaze was instantly met with his piercing blue eyes. She couldn't deny that those deep, intense orbs of his had an effect on her. They were just so damned piercing, almost as if he could see right through her – right through that protective barrier she had built between them – that stupid barrier she thought was good enough to make her impervious to his charms. Apparently, it wasn't. He had a strange way of getting under her skin, almost so easily, so effortlessly – and Haley didn't like it. She didn't like it and she certainly didn't want it._

_Haley couldn't resist another eye roll when he smirked at her, noticing immediately that she was blushing. "Don't even think that this arrangement changes anything between us."_

"_Right. It's just an arrangement – you're doing me a favor, and I'm doing you one," he grinned. "That just sounded so dirty in my head."_

"_Only in your head," muttered Haley, shaking her head at him in exasperation. "Look, I'm being serious here, Nathan. You and I are strictly …business partners. Not friends and certainly not friends with benefits. So you can just forget spiking my coffee with vodka or inviting me to have a quick nookie with you in the backseat of your car. Girls may want that, but I do not."_

"_Oh damn, well there goes my master plan." Nathan teased in mock disappointment._

"_Nathan,"_

"_Okay, okay – we have a deal," he finally agreed, making a face at her. "Jeez, would it kill you to joke around a bit?"_

"_Hey, I make jokes – just not with you."_

"_So you're telling me you make jokes with Lucas? Please, that guy wouldn't know a joke even if it was shoved up his ass – ow!" Nathan objected, pulling his arm back when she furiously swatted it. "I was just kidding!"_

"_Ha-ha, very funny," mocked Haley. "Look, can we just get this over with? Please? I have class, and I don't want to be late again because of you."_

"_Can't a guy have breakfast first? You drag me here at what, seven in the morning and expect me to have eaten already? I usually don't even get up this early if it's not for basketball practice."_

"_Your story touches me," said Haley sarcastically. When he frowned at her, she explained, "That was supposed to be a joke."_

"_Wow, now I know why you don't make them." Nathan teased her._

_Haley reached across the table and hit him again. She found herself laughing with him as she settled back in her chair. Her gaze met his again, the laughter in his eyes replaced with something she couldn't quite place – but certainly made her uncomfortable. Clearing her throat loudly, she opened her text book again._

_Nathan ripped the top of the Crackerjack box open and eagerly peered inside. He reached in and pulled out the plastic bracelet, his face falling. "Well, there goes the nice prize I was hoping for," he looked up at Haley, who unsurprisingly, was watching him. He looked back down at the bracelet and then at her. "Here, you take it."_

"_Nathan …" Haley began to protest._

"_Come on," he took her hand slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. He looked back at her, his hand unknowingly covering hers. What seemed to be a genuine smile crossed his face. If that didn't shake Haley, his words definitely did. "Don't say I never gave you anything."_

"Hales? Are you out here?"

Haley looked up to see Brooke standing next to her. "Hey, what are you doing awake?"

Brooke took a seat next to her, tucking her feet beneath her as she did. "I should ask you that same question."

"I couldn't sleep. I slept practically most of the drive," explained Haley. "And I like the silence out here. Somehow, Lucas' snoring really never appealed to me."

Brooke laughed, her gaze falling to the bracelet. "So you really did get that Crackerjack box in the gas station?"

"What?" She realized what Brooke was saying, and shook her head, taking it off. She was so buried in her thoughts that she forgot she was even wearing it. "No, um – this is an old one."

"So you like collecting plastic jewelry or something?"

"No, um – actually, Nathan gave this to me. It's – nothing, really."

"Honey, if you kept a plastic bracelet from a snack box that Nathan gave you even after all these years, then that's not just a bracelet." Brooke stated matter-of-factly.

Haley smiled, realizing the logic in her words. "Did Lucas tell you that Nathan and I had some sort of an arrangement?"

Brooke's dark eyes widened. "Really?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Aside from the fact that you're sill hung up on the guy, nothing. Wow, Haley – what kind of arrangement was it? Oh God, please don't tell me you were one of his sluts. You're an awesome girl and all but I can't believe you would do something like that –"

Haley grasped Brooke's arm, laughing. "No, it's nothing like that. Sex was completely out of the question."

"So what arrangement was it?"

Haley glanced down at the bracelet lying on her lap. "It was – something else, I'll give you that."

* * *

"I can't believe we'll actually be in Tree Hill in a few more hours!" Brooke squealed as she skipped around the room happily, throwing items that were lying around the room into her bag.

Haley and Peyton were seated on the edge of the bed, watching Brooke skip from one end of the room to the other, and back. "Does Brooke really bounce this much?"

"Just wait until you see her have a couple tequila shots," replied Peyton in amusement. "You'll get used to her peppiness. She was a born cheerleader."

"Oh, you were a cheerleader?" Haley asked interestedly. "You would have loved cheering for the Tree Hill Ravens. Lucas actually led the team to their first State Championship in like, ten years or something."

"Well, that just proves we're made for each other." Brooke proudly announced, flashing them her trademark dimpled smile.

Haley looked at Peyton in confusion. "Oh, she led our cheerleading team to their first championship, too." Peyton explained.

"So Tutor Girl, are you a cheerleader, too?" Brooke asked.

Haley shook her head. "I may be a lot of things, but cheerleader definitely isn't one of them. I wouldn't know anything about basketball except that you have to shoot a ball through a basket."

"Hales! I told you not to say that out loud! What kind of best friend would I be if I couldn't explain to you what basketball is?" Lucas said in mock offense as he and Jake walked into the room.

"Oh, don't rely on him for any basketball information, Haley. You should just ask me." Jake said, grinning broadly at her.

"You couldn't even explain directions! If Haley didn't understand basketball before, she wouldn't know it was called when you're done with her." Peyton objected, making everyone, except Jake, laugh.

"Some supportive girlfriend you have," remarked Brooke, clapping Jake on the back as she and Lucas walked past them. "Come on you guys, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get to Tree Hill!"

"Oh stop pouting Jake, you know I love you," assured Peyton, giving him a kiss. He grinned back at her as he quickly ran outside to help load the bags into the car. They both followed him outside and helped out with the loading. Peyton's gaze fell on Haley's wrist. "Nice bracelet, Haley."

At the sound of Peyton's remark, Lucas immediately looked at their direction. His eyes were inquiring; _Are you sure?_

Haley simply nodded, smiling at him. She looked back at Peyton and replied, "Thanks. You should stay awake a bit more so I can tell you all about it."


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I finally got around to posting this chapter today, so I hope you all enjoy it and continue to leave awesome reviews. Thank you!**

**--Sera**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

_**Indeed it's time**_

_There was a strong sense of foreboding within Haley as she walked into her dorm room for the last time. Tomorrow was her graduation, and tomorrow, she was leaving the university to go and live in New York. She wasn't assured of a job there, but it was a good place to start. She initially wanted to live somewhere less of a city, but with a career as unstable and unsure as hers, New York was definitely the best place to begin._

_She proceeded to the hallway closet to take out the huge cardboard boxes she was going to use to put in all her stuff. She settled them on the floor and took a long look around her. Her roommate had already moved out a few weeks ago, but Haley, being the cautious over-thinker that she was, kept postponing the day she had to move out as well. Haley had grown to love the place over the past four years, and just the thought of leaving what she had to come to know as home – well, she didn't like it and she figured that the longer she disregarded the thought of packing up her stuff, the longer she would have to stay here. Haley was beginning to regret this decision because most of the students in her dorm building had already left, and she was pretty much left alone to pack everything._

_Her gaze fell on her closet, and she decided that it would be the best place to start. Clothes were always being packed into bags and moved from one place to another. If she kept thinking that way, it would feel more like she was only leaving for vacation and not forever. She dragged herself and the boxes to the closet and one by one, she took out clothes from their hangers, her gaze lingering on each one for a moment before she folded it neatly and placed it into a box._

_Somehow, she had gotten hold of a rather large t-shirt with the words Duke Blue Devils on the front. It had been carelessly stuffed in the far back of her closet for God knows how long, and she held it in her hands all rumpled and wrinkled. Haley brought it to her face and inhaled the familiar scent of sweat, coffee, cologne and rain, her eyes flitting shut as waves of emotion coursed through her._

_She remembered that night – remembered it vividly like it was yesterday. She remembered how he held her in his arms as if it was a promise of forever – how he had gazed into her eyes, the intensity overwhelming her, and how, in the morning, she had quickly thrown the shirt into the back of her closet, giggling with him as she did._

_Haley knew this was coming; the memories she would have when she cleaned out this place. There were probably so many things in here that would remind of her of him – things she refused to throw out or give recognition. She gave the dorm room another long look, wondering what else she would find – wondering if she could really do this._

_With a heaving sigh, she rolled the shirt into a ball and threw it into a garbage bag, where probably everything that reminded her of him would go._

_No more memories._

"Welcome to Tree Hill, home of the Ravens," read Brooke loudly as they passed by the huge sign hovering over the street leading to the small town. She turned to Haley and asked, "Why doesn't it say basketball state champions or something?"

Haley smiled, looking up from the book she was reading. "Because they don't want people to remember that the last time the Ravens won a championship was five years ago in our senior year – not that avid basketball fans fail to shove it to their faces because they still do. Sometimes, when you've lost a lot of games, it's better to just reminisce the 'glory days' of the Ravens."

"You mean they never won anything after that?" Jake asked.

"Not even cracking the finals," Lucas said, with a shake of his head. "They've lost their will and motivation since Whitey left, I guess. He retired when we won the State, and he was the only reason why we were so driven and focused. He was like a dad to all of us, and not many of us had dads to begin with."

Haley cast him an apologetic smile. "As small as Tree Hill is, it has its fair share of dramatic family stories. Ask any random person about the Scott's, and you'd have one hell of a story to hear, each with a rather different and sometimes, strange version. The town is small enough to know everything about everyone, so when gossip and stories are exchanged, people like to tweak it a bit."

"I'd like to hear what people are saying about my Broody," declared Brooke. "It'll be nice to get an outsider's point of view of what I already know."

"Trust me Brooke, it's better not to know. Some stories are just downright crazy," replied Lucas with a little laugh. He took a look at the backseat, before focusing back on the road. "Do you guys want to check out where we're staying first before we head out to look around town?"

"Sure, where are we staying?" Peyton asked eagerly.

"Well, I was thinking we could all stay in Haley's old house. It's pretty big for all five of us, because Haley comes from a really big family. There were seven of them." Lucas answered, casting Haley a grin.

"Why can't we stay at your place?" Brooke asked.

"Mom and Uncle Keith are living there, and as much as we're welcome there anytime, staying over is out of the question. The house wouldn't fit all of us."

"So I guess that means we'll get to meet Haley's big family." Jake remarked, grinning.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon, Jake. All my brothers and sisters have left years ago, and never came back. They all have their own families and lives to live. As for my parents, they bought themselves an RV and went around the country as soon as I graduated from high school. They still come home every now and then, but I doubt they'll be here now." Haley explained.

"Haley's parents were kind of hippies," added Lucas.

She let out a huff and smacked his arm. "They were _not_ hippies!"

"Trust me, they were. They were as liberated and as happy-go-lucky as hippies come," quipped Lucas, laughing. "I used to love having dinner there."

"Now that would have been one heck of an awesome dinner." Peyton said, laughing as well.

They soon arrived in front of Haley's house and as soon as the car parked at the curb, everyone got out of the car and ran towards the house. With a sigh, Haley got out and looked at what used to be her home. She had missed this place every day, and the sense of comfort and safety she used to feel whenever she walked in. It had been a long time since she felt that way.

Haley's eyes fell on the porch and were met by three impatient glares at her.

"Come on Hales, open the door already!" Brooke whined.

With a laugh, Haley fumbled for her keys in her bag and ran down the walkway and to the porch. There was that feeling again – _home_.

* * *

It was around seven in the morning the next day when Haley left the house to take a walk around town. They had already done that yesterday as a group, but today, she felt like doing it alone. She remembered how she and Lucas used to play and run around the streets, buying ice cream and staying all day in the local bookstore.

Nothing much had changed. It was strange how that happened. Haley thought that being away for five years would change something but nothing did. Not even the location of one store, or the paint of a building. Tree Hill looked and felt the same as it did five years ago. It was nice to know that some things never changed, even when everything else did.

Haley's gaze fell on small café on the corner of a street, and a huge smile crept on her face. Karen's Café. And it was already open.

She immediately walked inside, hearing the familiar ring of the bell and announced, "I hope the coffee here was as good as it was five years ago."

Karen Roe spun around in surprise and upon seeing Haley, gave a cry and hugged her for a long time. She held Haley at arms' length, beaming as she did. "Oh my God, Haley! I was wondering when I would ever see you. Lucas and his friends came over to visit last night but you didn't. Where were you?"

"I had to clean up the house to make sure it was fit for guests. You know me," answered Haley with a big smile. "You look amazing, Karen."

"So do you! What happened to the long blond hair I used to love?"

She blushed in reply, running her fingers through her now shorter, chocolate brown hair. "I figured I needed a change."

"Well, you sure did change. Look at you Hales – you look so grown up and mature. It's hard to believe that you were once that shy, intelligent and hardworking seventeen-year-old who used to work here after school. You know, I had dozens of customers here asking where you were when you left for college. They couldn't believe you left." Karen said.

"I just can't believe I'm back!" Haley exclaimed, spinning around the empty space of the café. "And you, I can't believe you and Keith are actually getting married! It's about damned time if you ask me."

Karen gave a little laugh. "Well, he finally mustered up the courage to ask me. I'm so glad you could come home for the wedding."

"Well, you can't have a wedding without the maid of honor," said Haley, winking. "Thank you again Karen for making me one."

"Oh please, you're a shoo-in for the role." Karen said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. She went to the back of the counter and poured Haley a cup of coffee. "So, how is the working life?"

"I'm getting by," replied Haley with a shrug. "I'm currently a teacher in a high school in New York, and well, I'm still a closet singer-slash-songwriter."

"You'll get your big break, Haley. You're the most talented singer I've ever known."

"I'm the only singer you've ever known," reminded Haley, laughing. "Besides, I'm not looking to be discovered. Just writing songs and performing them in small cafes are fine with me. I'm happy with the way things are now."

"Well, as long as you're happy, I am too," said Karen, smiling.

Before Haley could say anything, a deep, male voice from the back of the room called out, "Hey Karen, what am I supposed to do with the boxes over here?"

Haley was suddenly frozen in her seat. That voice was so familiar, and it made her heart rate suddenly speed up just like it always used to do years ago – but it was impossible. He couldn't be here, certainly not now. He didn't even know Karen. He wasn't supposed to be here.

Luckily, Karen had her back turned that she didn't see the look of utter shock on Haley's face. "You could just put them down for awhile. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"No, Karen – it's okay, I have to get going anyway," squeaked Haley, unable to find her voice all of a sudden.

And then he stepped out and came into view, and it was like all the air was sucked out of Haley's lungs. There he was – standing right in front of her, a sheepish smile on his face as he looked at Karen. He was even more good-looking now than Haley remembered, and she didn't know why because she was pretty sure he hadn't gotten any taller than he already was, but she suddenly felt so small next to him. His presence was staggering.

He ran his fingers through his already tousled dark brown hair and when his eyes fell on hers, a look of shock swept on his handsome face as well. God, those eyes had always made Haley's heart skip a beat. They were as dark blue and as beautiful as ever. Carefully, Haley tore her gaze away as she tried to control her breathing, silently praying he wouldn't remember her. But the look he gave her awhile ago – that was anything but forgetting.

"Haley, this is Nathan Scott, Lucas' brother. Nathan, this is Haley James, the girl I've been telling you about." Karen said, looking back and forth between them expectantly, obviously unaware that the two went way back.

"Haley James," repeated Nathan quietly in that incredibly sexy voice of his. A small smirk began to creep its way to his face, and it grew even wider when he saw her blush again.

_Just like old times_, he thought.

The phone lying on the counter began to ring and Karen immediately went off to answer it, making the already unbearable tension even harder to ignore. Haley gave a glance at Karen and forced herself to look up at him. The smirk on her face instantly made her flare with anger, the embarrassment and shock long forgotten. "What are you doing here?"

"So you really weren't expecting me?" For one moment, he also seemed like he was genuinely disappointed, and Haley made sure to quickly disregard that thought.

"Well, it's not like you've made grand entrances like this to Tree Hill before, so yeah. I wasn't expecting you." She spat at him.

"Still as feisty as I remember," chuckled Nathan.

"You have no right to think for even one second that things between us are remotely close to okay. So don't bother trying to charm me because it's not going to work anymore." Haley hissed at him.

"Really? Because this conversation really reminds me of what you told me at the docks, and well, charming you actually worked." Nathan said, grinning at her. His eyes fell on the Crackerjack bracelet. "Nice bracelet. Looks like you remember that day, too."

Before Haley could say anything else, Karen returned and said, "Nathan, your Uncle Keith said he left a few sacks of coffee beans in the back. Would you mind helping me carry them over here?"

"Sure thing, Karen," replied Nathan cheerfully. He turned back to Haley, his hand outstretched. "Well, I have to get going. It was nice meeting you, Haley."

She gave him a death glare and with an uneasy glance at Karen, she took his hand. "It was nice meeting you too, Nathan."

"I guess I'll see you around." His fingers wrapped around the Crackerjack bracelet, and as he took away his hand, he pulled the bracelet off. With a small smile on his face, he looked over his shoulder at her and disappeared into the back room.

Karen's voice interrupted Haley's thoughts, her gaze knowing. "So you want to tell me more of what I just saw and heard, or should I make Lucas tell me?"

* * *

It was around ten later that night when Haley awoke to someone knocking at the door. Everyone else in the house was fast asleep. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she dragged herself to the front door. When she opened it, she was startled to see Nathan standing at her doorstep.

"Sorry, no late night visits for assholes," said Haley curtly, making a move to shut the door, but Nathan quickly stopped her. With an exasperated sigh, she asked, "What do you want from me?"

"I came to give you this," he held out the Crackerjack bracelet he had taken from her awhile ago. When he made a move to give it to her, Haley took a small step back. Even through the darkness, he saw the doubtful and questioning look on her face. "I needed to a reason to see you again."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm sorry, Hales –"

"Don't – don't call me that." She whispered, her voice starting to crack. Tears were starting to fill her eyes and she furiously blinked them away. "I've stopped accepting apologies from you years ago."

"Just hear me out –" He pleaded. She couldn't see his face with the darkness, but just the way he said those words made Haley's heart break. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back under her covers and cry. It was happening all over again – the helplessness, the overwhelming pain, the thudding of her heart against her chest, the tears forming in her eyes – it was like reliving that fateful rainy night all over again.

"There's nothing to hear out, Nathan. I've said it once and I'll say it again – I'm done."

"I came to Tree Hill for you, Haley. I came for us."

"Then you should just leave because there is no 'us.' There never was, and there never will be."

"I'm not leaving you anymore." Nathan said quietly.

"Just go. Please."

Unbearable, aching silence hung between them. There was so much emotion in his words, so much he wanted to say that he didn't get to say years ago. A part of Haley wanted nothing but to hear him out, wanted nothing but to be in his arms again and just be happy – but a bigger part of her didn't want the pain anymore.

Nathan took her hand and gently slipped on the Crackerjack bracelet, watching it fall back on her wrist when she put her hand down to her side. He took one step back so she could see his face illuminated by the streetlight outside. "Don't say I never gave you anything."

She watched his figure walk away and disappear into the darkness of the night. Years ago, he had uttered those words to her with a tone of mischief, his eyes teasing but at the same time, unnervingly different. She had seen something in his eyes tonight that she hadn't seen before – something she didn't want to see.

Promise.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone. Thank you for all the positive feedback for the last chapter. I am so glad people really like my story so far. Anyway, I am so sorry for the late updates. I haven't been too well lately, and school has been killer – the usual excuses. Again, I am so sorry and I promise to try to make my updates more regular. Enjoy this chapter and please review!**

**--Sera**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

_**Instilling so much doubt**_

_It was a rather late Monday morning when Nathan joined Haley in their usual spot on school campus – the tables on the field, overlooking their building and a long pathway leading to the building and to the highway. A lot of people gave Nathan double-takes, some even stopping to stare blatantly at him as he walked past them. He didn't seem to be affected by the attention at all – rather, he seemed to revel in it as the smirk on his face slowly grew with each person that gawked at him._

_He was so unaffected by it that even when he sat down next to Haley – causing more people to stare and even whisper some things – he was completely calm and cheerful as he handed her a cup of coffee._

"_A latte just the way you like it," he declared, grinning at her._

_Haley was already starting to feel annoyed and uncomfortable with all the people looking their way that she didn't appreciate the gesture as much he figured she would. She gave the area an uneasy look. "Why do we have to sit here?"_

_Nathan took a quick glance at the building and his eyes darted back to her just as fast. "You know why. Besides, I like this spot. You see everything and everyone here."_

"_That's exactly my point. Everyone can see us here, too," she gave an exasperated sigh when two girls stood a couple of feet away from them, throwing dirty looks at her and whispering rapidly. She made a face and said loudly, "Why don't you two take a picture? It'll last longer."_

_Nathan chuckled, pulling Haley into a hug. "Ignore them. You'll get used to it after a while."_

"_I don't think I ever will," muttered Haley. "How can you ignore something so uncomfortable? It's like they're just waiting for me to make one wrong move and it'll be headlines by lunch. I mean, look at that guy. He's been gawking at us ever since you got here, and I don't think he's going to leave anytime soon. For all I know, he could have a hidden camera or something."_

"_You're exaggerating, Hales." He told her, still chuckling._

_Haley gave them one last exasperated look and pulled out a few books from her bag. "So how many did you get on our last test?"_

"_Not too much," mumbled Nathan, the cocky and confident exterior immediately gone._

"_How many exactly is 'not too much'?" She demanded, eying him sternly._

"_Well, I passed." Nathan said defensively._

"_But just barely," finished Haley with a defeated shake of her head. "You can't keep slacking off like this, Nathan. You and I both know you could pull up those grades. You just need to be more focused."_

"_In that case, will you help me study then? I have this huge test coming up on Friday, and we have practice all week so I don't know if I could study for this."_

"_Sure, scoot over here," she answered, taking his books so she could skim the pages. They were both silent for a moment when Haley suddenly said in a rather quiet voice, "Did she ever call you back?"_

_Nathan didn't need to ask her who she was referring to. His voice was suddenly dull and depressed – a stark contrast to his cheerfulness awhile ago. "No. I tried calling her again last night but I kept getting her answering machine. I can't believe she's screening my calls now."_

_Haley looked up at him, an apologetic and comforting smile on her face as she squeezed his arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"_

_He was quiet for a moment as he stared at the open book laid out in front of him, the text and words practically meaningless at that moment. When he spoke, even he was taken aback by how defeated he sounded. "No. Not really."_

_Haley simply nodded, also pointedly looking at her lap to avoid eye contact. Her hand was still on his arm and as she spoke, she squeezed it tighter. "I'm sorry."_

"_Yeah, me too," he muttered, finally looking up. When he turned to her, he was met by her big, brown eyes and he was immediately comforted by her concerned gaze. His fin "That's why you're here, right?"_

_She swallowed, trying to get past the lump in her throat. She forced a small smile as she whispered, "Right."_

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Lucas asked in surprise as Haley walked into the kitchen the next morning. "You look terrible."

"Good morning to you, too," replied Haley, sticking her tongue out at him. She joined him on the kitchen table and as soon as she took a seat, she buried her head into her arms, her forehead pressed against the hard surface. It had been a rough night for her. Ever since that visit from Nathan, it had affected Haley so much to the point that she could no longer sleep and she paced around the room, wishing she wasn't feeling so giddy and nervous at the same time. His visit somehow gave her hope – a lot of it – hope for them, she didn't know. She was almost convinced it was false hope but just the way he looked at her last night, the way he spoke to her and God, the way his eyes were so intense – it made her doubt his intentions even more.

On the rare occasion that she was able to fall asleep, all she dreamt of was about him and her, and Haley didn't like it one bit. She didn't like how much she wished it could happen again, how happy it made her feel, and how – hopeful it seemed. There was that word again; hopeful. It was practically hand-in-hand with doubt now, and it scared Haley how much she thought of it.

She felt something cold press against her arm and she lifted her head slightly to see what it was. It was a glass of orange juice. She gave Lucas a small smile as she adjusted her position and quickly gulped half of it down. Haley looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"Still asleep," replied Lucas, gesturing to the wall clock that hung behind Haley. "It's only six."

"_You're_ up early." Haley noted, one eyebrow slightly raised at him.

"Yeah. For some reason, I woke up early this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I guess it's being back in Tree Hill again. I always woke up this early to help mom out," he surveyed her again, his light blue eyes narrowing. "Looks like you weren't able to sleep last night, either. What's up?"

Haley's fingers lightly ran over the rim of the glass as she stared at her blurred reflection on the silverware. She didn't know what to say – or how to say it. How was she going to tell Lucas that the asshole who broke her heart and treated him like crap was actually there – and that he had paid her a visit last night?

Without looking up at him, she quietly said, "Nathan."

There was a sharp intake of breath and Lucas' voice was rather stiff as he asked, "He's here?"

"I ran into him in Karen's café. He was helping her out with some things, and of course I had to pretend that I didn't know him in front of Karen, but she didn't buy it at all. As soon as Nathan was gone, she made me tell her all about me and him. Apparently, he has been in Tree Hill for the past few weeks now, way before you and I got the invitation to come here for the wedding. I tried asking Karen why Nathan was here in the first place, but she didn't tell me." Haley explained, finally looking at Lucas when she was done.

She was still wondering about what he told her last night. He seemed pretty intent and determined to get her back, and there was a strange sincerity in his eyes that Haley rarely saw, and was taken aback with. She didn't know whether to believe him or not. She had believed in him before, and look what that got her now. There just had to be another reason why he was here, because Haley was sure that Nathan never paid a single visit to Tree Hill before so he wasn't here to simply say hello.

"Did mom invite him to the wedding?" Lucas asked, his voice still stiff. His hand that was lying on top of the table was already curled into a fist.

"Not before he came here. According to Karen, when she got to know Nathan better, she found it in herself to invite him. Apparently, he's not as much like his father as Karen presumed," she paused to look at the expression on her best friend's face. "You're not buying it, are you?"

Lucas didn't acknowledge her question, but his hand clenched even tighter, making the bones protrude slightly. "What did he tell you?"

"In the café, he pretended to not know me at all –"

"In the café?" He repeated as his eyes widened slightly. "You mean you met him before you ran into him?"

"No, it was after," she hesitated for a second, worrying that Lucas would overreact. He was already angry now, and she was worried on what he would say or do next. "He came over last night –" she took a deep breath. "—he said he came to Tree Hill for us."

Lucas didn't answer immediately, his face stony and his teeth tightly clamped. Haley noticed that his fist loosened slightly. "Why didn't mom tell me?" He wondered aloud.

"Maybe it slipped her mind."

He shook his head. "Nothing ever slips mom's mind."

Haley ran her fingers through her hair, her hand resting on her nape as she leaned onto the table. "If you're not buying his act, then I'm not either."

He gave her a questioning look.

She shrugged and when she explained, her voice was unsure. "There was something to him last night – like, he meant what he said."

"You don't really think he meant that, do you?" Lucas asked her incredulously.

"I choose to believe what you think instead of mine. After all," her gaze fell on the Crackerjack bracelet she was still wearing. "You were right before."

* * *

Nathan was running – running too fast, and too long. His breath was already way beyond labored and he was almost too weak to stand. He didn't know how long it had been since he started running that morning, but he didn't care. It felt good to let go – it felt good to be weak ... for once. Nathan had always stood strong and proud, almost impossible to break – until Haley. It was nice to know that he sometimes fell, and it wasn't even about her today.

He felt his legs give way as he sank to the concrete ground, his trembling hand unstable as it pressed hard onto the ground. Nathan felt his wet wifebeater stick to his bare back as he sat there, trying to catch his breath. His heart was pounding hard against his chest; it had never been that hard – not since that night with Haley in the rain when it had all ended. God, he was so sure that he wasn't going to lose her and that night, the feeling of losing her overpowered him and he had never felt weaker and more helpless in his entire life. He felt like he had lost everything.

It shouldn't have mattered that she was gone. He shouldn't have cared. But he did – and the rest of his life was never the same. She ought to know that. He had to prove it to her while she was still here.

"I love you Haley," he whispered, so surprised that he was still able to speak when he was that exhausted and out of breath. Why was it so easy now – now that he was alone? Why couldn't he had found it himself to say it to her back then? Because he had never actually loved someone? Nathan squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he gasped for air. "I love you, Hales."

Nathan felt his arms buckle as he fell to the ground, his forehead pressed against the concrete. He rolled so that he was lying on top of the grass instead of the sidewalk. His heart gave a little jump whenever he said her nickname – like a little flutter, a tiny ray of happiness he wished he could have back. He wanted that feeling back. He wanted to be happy again – happy with her. He breathed it out like a chant, "Hales."

"What?"

Nathan's eyes shot open and sure enough, Haley was standing over him, her face unreadable. Even her eyes were void of expression. It had been so easy to read her eyes before, even when she wasn't saying anything. Her short, dark brown hair framed her face, no longer the long blond curls he hadn't seen in a long time. It had changed – just like everything else between them did. "What are you doing here?" He asked her breathily.

"I like to take walks in the morning." She answered, almost defiantly.

He chuckled when he noticed that she didn't ask him what he was doing there, but she certainly looked like she wanted to know. "I like to run in the morning," he gestured to his lying body. "Exhibit A."

When she didn't say anything, Nathan took this as a chance to make conversation with her. He sat up, now feeling a little better. "You look amazing today."

A smirk crossed his face when he saw her blush, glad to see that he still had that effect on her. He merely shrugged. "Well, you do."

Haley rolled her eyes at him. "I'll leave you to whatever you're doing. See you around."

She was just about to walk away when she felt his hand wrap around her wrist and pull her back so she was seated on the grass next to him. Haley glared at him. "Stop it, Nathan."

"Stop what?" He asked her innocently.

"Stop – whatever you're doing. I already told you, none of your charms work on me anymore." Haley said stubbornly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I'm not charming you, Haley. I'm just trying to make conversation with you." Nathan said, holding his hands up in defense.

"A conversation four years too late," snapped Haley as she quickly stood up, brushing grass and whatever dirt that got on her. "You've had your chance that night and you blew it."

"I was going to say something!" Nathan said a little too loudly that made a few people in the vicinity look at them. "You just didn't let me."

"Just like I'm not letting you now," she said curtly, starting to walk away.

Nathan quickly got up and followed her. He grabbed her by the arm once again, spinning her around so she was facing him. He winced when her brown eyes were flashing with anger at him. "Please, Haley – I'm trying here. Just hear me out, that's all I ask."

"Well, you're going to have to try a little harder, Nathan."

"Why won't you let me explain? Did I hurt you that much?"

Nathan felt his heart break when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Yes, Nathan – you did. You hurt me to the point that I'm not even interested in what you have to say anymore. So you can just go back to your big city life and be the ladies' man and bachelor that you are. There's nothing left to fight for."

"I'm not any of those things anymore, Hales. I'm not anymore because of you." Nathan said, the honesty in his words emanating from his eyes. It scared Haley to see it, and there was that hopeful feeling again – the feeling that she no longer wanted to have ever again.

"Please, Nathan – for me, don't …" Haley pleaded softly, wanting to cry again.

Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. He took her hand and pressed it against her palm, gently folding her fingers over it so her hand clenched into a fist. "It's that spark again, Hales. Like when we skipped school together,"

She didn't answer, refusing to look up at him. He could hear her heavy breathing and realized that she was trying to hold back the tears from coming.

He cupped the side of her face, lifting her head up so he was gazing directly at her. His eyes darted to the paper in her hand and back to her. "Meet me tonight," he told her. When he saw how defiant she suddenly looked, he leaned closer so he could whisper into her ear, "There's always something left to fight for."


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Here's the latest update. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

**--Sera**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own a thing.

_The grounds of Duke University was full of eager, overly-excited freshmen students as they walked around the gymnasium that was momentarily where they were supposed to enroll for the first semester. Haley watched in fascination as she saw a girl crying on her parents' shoulders, another one who looked positively lost as she looked around the gymnasium in confusion, and another student who was so nervous that he seemed to be rooted to the spot where he stood._

_Haley would've felt nervous as well if she weren't with Lucas – who, when she finally tore her gaze away to turn to him – suddenly disappeared into thin air. She frowned, craning her neck to search for a familiar blond head. It annoyed her how Lucas always had the tendency to somehow drift away from her, especially during times when Haley hated being alone. As far as she was concerned now, Haley was practically as lost as the girl awhile ago._

_She dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone to call Lucas, still looking around anxiously as she waited for him to pick up._

"_Hey, are you standing in that line?" A voice asked her._

_Haley turned to see a pretty girl with wavy hair that seemed to range between blond and brown. She glanced behind her, and realized she was actually standing in the back of a line which she had no idea led to. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not." She apologized, quickly stepping aside so the girl could take her place._

_She sighed in frustration when she got Lucas' voice mail, running her fingers through her hair as she did. Now was so not the time to be playing hide and seek with him, not when she was in a completely unfamiliar place, practically alone now._

"_Late boyfriend?" The girl asked her almost sympathetically._

_Haley looked up and smiled as she shook her head. "No, not really. It's more of a annoying lost best friend who promised he'd be here with me."_

_The girl nodded in fervent agreement. "I have a friend just like that, and it does get annoying. Is it just the two of you here?"_

"_Unfortunately, yeah – which probably makes my situation a whole lot worse."_

"_Nah, it couldn't be worse than me. I'm actually here alone. My parents didn't have enough money to drive me all the way here, with the tuition and dormitory so expensive." The girl said rather wistfully._

_Haley winced, sincerely sorry for the girl. "Wow, that _does_ suck," she held out a hand and added, "I'm Haley James."_

"_Lindsey Strauss," the girl replied, smiling as she took Haley's outstretched hand. She took a glance at the line that didn't seem to have moved since she got there, and looked back at Haley. "So, how exactly does this best friend of yours look like? With this line being so slow, I've got a lot of time to kill."_

"_He's pretty tall, blond hair, squinty blue eyes. I think he was wearing a blue shirt, or was it green? I should've checked this morning but he was being so slow that I completely forgot. He is so slow in the morning and it doesn't help that he takes way too long in the bathroom – you'd think he was a girl …" Haley complained, trailing off when she saw the amused look on Lindsey's face. Her face went pink as she explained, "I'm sorry. I tend to ramble a lot."_

"_Yeah, I noticed," grinned Lindsey. "It's cool that you have that kind of comfortable friendship with a guy. It usually takes a really long time to get into that kind of level with a guy, even if he is a friend."_

"_Oh, we've been friends since we were kids. We go way back," said Haley, still scanning the gymnasium for any sign of Lucas. She added in a rather annoyed tone, "Apparently, so far back because he doesn't mind that I will murder him for leaving me all alone here."_

_Lindsey laughed. "So where are you two from?"_

"_Tree Hill – it's a small town in North Carolina," explained Haley when she saw the confused look on her newfound friend's face. "You?"_

"_Wisconsin. I'm here for the reason you probably are here, too; to get out of the city."_

"_Isn't that any small town girl's reason?" Haley was really starting to like Lindsey. She had such a welcoming aura about her, and she was such fun to talk to that she was getting less annoyed at having Lucas leave her._

"_So what course are you taking?"_

"_I'm majoring in English and I'll probably take up Music too, if the load isn't that –" The rest of Haley's words were pushed back down as she took a big gulp. Her gaze fell on a tall, very good-looking boy standing a few yards away from her as he talked to one of the girls. He had short dark hair that simply begged for any girl to run her fingers through it and the most startlingly intense blue eyes she had ever seen. He had a small smirk on his handsome face as he talked to the girl who was practically swooning at him. Haley was pretty sure that if he even touched her, she'd probably faint._

_He had such a swagger and confidence about him that made everyone else in the room simply fade in the background, as if he knew he was drop-dead gorgeous and he reveled in the fact. He was wearing a Duke Blue Devils jacket, giving off the idea that he was most probably an athlete of the school and even with the jacket, Haley could see that he had a toned, muscular body. She didn't know why but she was strangely drawn to him – as if she wanted to know more. There was something about him she couldn't place – something she wanted to find out, something beneath the confident exterior. She wondered what it was – wondered why she was so caught up with this good-looking boy. No guy, not even the cutest guy in school, ever made Haley that entranced with one glance at him._

_Haley's musings were interrupted when she heard Lindsey chuckle behind her. "Who is he?" She asked her, surprised to hear that her voice sounded breathless all of a sudden._

"_His name is Nathan Scott. He's going to be playing basketball for us starting this year."_

_Basketball. Again. She should've known it was something like that. The height, the googly eyes at him, the confident swagger – no sport in the world could give any athlete that kind of self-assured aura. Haley instantly disliked him, completely forgetting that less than a minute ago, she was dying to know who he was and that he would look her way. "If he's a new player, why does everyone know him?"_

"_Why _doesn't_ everyone know him?" Lindsey corrected. "Look at him, Haley. It's like the guy was born to be noticed. It's impossible not to look at him. It also helps that he's lead his high school basketball team to four state championships since his first year there, and Duke was all excited when he accepted their offer to play for the Blue Devils. It was all over the news."_

_Haley rolled her eyes, relieved that she was getting annoyed at the guy rather than fall under his spell like the rest of the female population. "You know, for once – I'd like to meet a guy who doesn't know a thing about basketball. It's all I hear with Lucas, and it gets so frustrating when it's basketball 24/7."_

"_Well, this is certainly a first." Lindsey remarked as one of her brows lifted with interest._

"_What do you mean?"_

'"_It's just that, well – it's the first time I've ever met a girl here who actually doesn't like Nathan Scott. I never thought I'd see it."_

"_Why, aren't you into him?" Haley asked, frowning._

"_Nah, I've never been one for sports," shrugged Lindsey. She looked back at Nathan, her kinked eyebrow rising even more. "But sometimes you just can't help but think 'sex on legs' with that guy."_

Sex on legs. That wasn't the last time Haley heard that description for Nathan, and she sure as hell couldn't deny it – especially now, when he was seated right across the café from her, giving her intense gazes that made her heart race and her body heat up in places Haley didn't even want to think of. She felt her cheeks burning again and when she saw the satisfied smirk on his face, she tore her gaze away – reluctantly – and focused on the untouched food on her plate.

Haley had no idea why she was stupid enough to suggest to Brooke and Peyton that they eat lunch there when she knew that Nathan was most probably going to be. Maybe a part of her hoped she would see him – she quickly pushed that thought to the far back of her mind. There was no way she going to start thinking things like that again.

"Haley, are you okay? You've been blushing furiously for the past five minutes. We could ask the management to lower the temperature in here or something if you feel hot." Peyton suggested as her brows furrowed with concern.

"Oh, she's feeling hot alright," quipped Brooke with a suggestive wink. "She and Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy over there have been having eye-sex the moment we got in here."

"Brooke!" Haley cried out, blushing again as she swatted her friend on the arm.

Peyton stole a glance at Nathan when he wasn't looking and a huge grin suddenly spread across her face. "Wow, I must say – I don't blame you one bit, Haley. I am impressed. Look at that guy, he's practically sex on –"

"Sex on legs, I know!" Haley interrupted a little too loudly, annoyed that that term was being used all over again. A few people nearby gave her weird looks and feeling ridiculous, Haley shifted her seating position in such a way that her back was turned to them.

"Jeez Haley, you don't have to get so testy. All we're saying is that it's about time you get over your whiny, moaning phase and move on to something better, and he is right there – waiting to conduct another eye-sex session with you." Brooke said, gesturing towards Nathan.

"Will you _please_ stop saying that?!" Haley said angrily, pushing Brooke's arm down before Nathan could see that they were talking about him. "I wasn't having eye-sex with him."

"Haley, there's nothing wrong with trying to move on with somebody else. If you ask me, it's about time that guy replaces Nathan." Peyton said while Brooke nodded fervently at her side.

"Yeah, it would be a good time to move on with that guy if he weren't Nathan." Haley said rather huffily.

"That guy over there is Nathan?" Brooke asked incredulously, her brown eyes widening in shock. She blatantly stared at him with her mouth agape, receiving another smack from Haley. "Wow, no wonder you can't get over him."

"He could've actually been hot if he wasn't really a jerk," remarked Peyton, shaking her head in disappointment. "Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yeah, but I've been brushing him off," answered Haley as she reached into her pocket and showed them the folded piece of paper he had given her. "He asked if we could meet up tonight."

"'Rivercourt at eight.' What the heck is a Rivercourt?" Brooke asked, frowning slightly after she read the note aloud.

"It's a basketball court Lucas and his friends used to play in all the time. I don't even know how he knows it exists."

"Are you going to meet up with him?" Peyton asked.

"I honestly don't know," replied Haley, shrugging. "A part of me wants to just say 'no' but another – unfortunately, bigger – part of me wants to know what he has to say. He's been begging for the chance to explain, and he actually sounded sincere. I don't know if I should believe him or not."

"You don't have to believe him or not. You could just listen to what he has to say and be the judge of it later on." Peyton suggested.

Haley merely nodded in reply as she mused over her friend's suggestion.

"Does Lucas know?" Brooke asked.

"He knows Nathan is here, but he doesn't know I'm meeting up with Nathan tonight."

"So you _are_ going?"

Haley stole another glance at Nathan, and unfortunately, his gaze was on her again. This time, it was more intense and she felt a familiar shiver race down her spine. She turned back to Brooke and Peyton and after a moment, quietly said, "Don't tell Lucas."

* * *

_Haley was in line for lunch when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to see Nathan standing behind her, smiling. Haley felt a tiny flutter at the pit of her stomach; it was so rare to see him smiling like that. It was either he smirked or he was completely expressionless. Seeing him smile was such a different change that Haley wasn't sure she was going to get used to._

"_Hey, Nathan," she greeted him, smiling back. "Is there anything I can help you with?"_

"_Actually, I'm here to say thanks. Everything's been going great and I just want to thank you for all that you've done. I know it wasn't easy for you to do something like this for me and that it took a great deal of sacrifice on your part – but I really, really appreciate it. You're a great friend, Hales."_

_Hales. She felt the familiar flutter again whenever he said her name like that. Trying to hide a blush, she quickly turned away and said, "It's really nothing, Nathan."_

"_It's everything, Hales. You've done so much for me that it's almost unfair that I haven't done anything for you."_

_Haley merely smiled again and as she watched him walk away, she couldn't help but whisper, "You've already done everything."_

"You came," Nathan's voice said rather breathlessly, interrupting Haley's thoughts. She spun around to face him, cursing herself when she felt her heart suddenly race at the sigh of him. "I didn't think you would come."

"I honestly didn't think I would come, either." Haley said honestly. She was completely aware of the haughty tone to her voice, and she knew he was too by the way he looked at her – almost disappointed.

But just as fast as the look came on his face, it disappeared. "So what do your two friends think of me?"

"Who?"

"The two girls you were with in the café."

"They thought you were a jerk –" Haley abruptly paused, suddenly feeling sorry for him. He didn't deserve to feel all that bad – not this much. "But kind of hot."

"Kind of?" The familiar smirk was starting to creep up on his face.

"Don't think it's a compliment from me or anything. I didn't say you were." Haley snapped.

"I'll try to remember that," The corners of his mouth twitched upward, which she found to be quite irritating because she realized she was starting to smile, too. She cursed herself again. She wasn't supposed to be feeling so comfortable all of a sudden. She was supposed to still hate him, not fall under his charms – _again_. He winced at her glaring expression at him and asked, "So do your friends know about us?"

"Us?" Haley repeated, flaring instantly. "Didn't I tell you? There is – and never was – no us."

"Haley –"

"Tell me something, Nathan. Look back to all those years ago and think about what we had. You said it yourself; the whole thing was a lie."

"I never meant to say that!" Nathan protested heatedly. "I was mad, Haley and I said a lot of things I didn't mean to say, and none of them were true. I'm not proud of the things I said that night Haley, and I don't want to remember them but since you keep bringing it up, I guess I'm forced to!"

"Well at least you said something that night! You never said anything that night when we broke up! You just stood there and watched me cry!" Haley shouted.

"I was going to say something, Haley! Why can't you believe that?"

"Because you didn't say anything – not a single word! You waited for me to walk away before you initiated anything!"

"I was scared to lose you!"

"So you were going to wait to lose me before you'd do anything about it?"

Nathan angrily cursed a string of profanities under his breath, running a frustrated hand through his dark hair. "What do you want me to say, Haley? I've said sorry at least a dozen times, tried to explain and redeem myself to you and you're still not buying anything I say or do. I don't know what you want, and I don't know what to do anymore."

"You could tell me what we had wasn't a lie," said Haley quietly. "All this time, I've been waiting for you to tell me it never was."

His back had been turned to her and when he faced her, he felt guilt overwhelm him when he saw tears in her eyes. Nathan moved closer, gazing deep into her eyes. He was tempted to hold her hand or cradle her face, but decided not to. It was way too early for any of that. If he was going to win her back, then he needed to do it one step at a time. "Haley, if I thought what we had was a lie, would I be all the way here begging you to forgive me? I left so much back in L.A. and I honestly couldn't care less if I did."

"Your basketball season is starting in a few weeks. Doesn't that bother you?" Haley asked him softly.

"No. I honestly couldn't care about that right now," answered Nathan truthfully, surprised that she knew. "How do you even know that it does? You never seemed to care about basketball."

"I didn't. But I always followed your career. It skyrocketed right after college."

Her words, the way she said them, the way she looked at him – God, he wanted to kiss her right then and there. It was almost painful to stop himself from doing anything. "Haley, I really am sorry for everything. I'm sorry I hurt you all those years, I'm sorry that things between us didn't work out, I'm sorry I waited so long to apologize, and I'm sorry that it had to end that way. If I could turn back time and take back what happened between us, I would."

Haley didn't answer. She didn't like the way he looked at her. It was almost like he was sincere – really, truly sincere. Since what happened between them, she had been very careful on interpreting what Nathan said to what he really meant. To the rest of the world, Nathan Scott was just the talented basketball player. Haley knew that there was so much more to him than just the mere façade he put up for people, and she knew that he could easily fool people into thinking whatever he wanted them to think. Honestly, right now – Haley didn't know what to think of him. He certainly _looked_ sincere, and he _sounded_ sincere but was he really? When all those years ago, he was able to fool everyone … She mentally kicked herself at the thought. Was she really going to go back to that memory, right now?

Nathan decided to take her silence as another opportunity to say something. "Haley, I know I'm sorry for a lot of things but if there's one thing I'm not sorry about, it's meeting you. You've changed a lot of things in my life, Hales. I don't know if you're aware of that, but you did."

Was she really going to believe him? He sounded so regretful – so defeated that it ached just watching him. Haley thought back to what Peyton had suggested earlier. She looked up at him and carefully said, "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I'm also not saying that I do. I need time to think things through, you know what I mean?"

Time. She saw Nathan visibly wince at the word, but he simply nodded in agreement. An awkward silence hung between them, filled with unbearable tension just like it had been in the café awhile ago. For some odd reason, Haley felt her cheeks start to flame again as she tried to look away from his piercing gaze.

She heard him clear his throat and ask, "So – what are we now? Where are we now?"

Friends? It was so soon … so comfortable. Haley wasn't ready for something like that yet. She considered it for a moment and reached out her hand. "The beginning?"

A small smile crept on Nathan's face. "Yeah," he murmured as he took her hand. "The beginning sounds good."

Haley was so caught up in his words and the smile on his face that she completely forgot she was still holding his hand until she felt his gently slip away. She felt an instant, almost lonely, panicked feeling when he let go and as she dug her hand deep into her jacket pocket, there was no denying it.

The sparks were still definitely there.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey guys. I know it's been awhile, but I wanted to finish ****Collide**** first and I kind of lost inspiration for this story. I'm going to keep updating this one now that I've found my muse again, so I hope you guys keep supporting my story. Please review and constructive criticism is always appreciated.**

**--Sera**

* * *

"_Chinese or pizza?" Nathan asked Haley as he sat down next to her on her dorm bed._

"_What are you talking about?" She asked him absentmindedly as she rummaged through the closet._

"_Do you want to eat Chinese food or pizza tonight?" When she didn't immediately answer, he continued, "We could always try Thai food. People have been saying it's really good but I've never tried it yet …"_

"_Neither." Haley answered abruptly._

"_What?"_

"_I don't want Chinese, or pizza, or Thai."_

"_Well, what do you want then? We could go to the mall and pick somewhere to order takeout and –"_

_Haley sighed in frustration. "That's not what I meant, Nathan. I – I can't hang out with you tonight."_

_Nathan frowned. "So why take me here?"_

_She reached into her closet and took out a Duke Blue Devils shirt. "You left this last time."_

"_Oh, I remember that shirt," grinned Nathan rather cheekily as he wiggled his brows at her. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be interested in returning his playful mood because she just sighed impatiently again and held the shirt out in her hand. He raised his brows at her. "You're giving it back?"_

"_Well, yeah. It's yours." She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

"_Haley, I don't know what stick crawled up your ass right now but you can keep that shirt. It's yours now." He shrugged._

_She ran her fingers through her hair, clicking her tongue as she did. "Look Nathan, I'm really not in the mood right now. It's getting late and I have a date to get to –"_

_Nathan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "You have a date? Tonight?"_

"_Yes, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd just take the shirt so I can –"_

"_Clear the room of any evidence that I exist before you bring that guy over here tonight?" Nathan asked coldly._

"_What the hell are you talking about? I just want you to get that shirt now because now is the only time I could give it to you!"_

"_Yeah, sure because I bet you two will have dozens of dates after this one, or maybe it'll be different guys then, I don't know." He said, disgruntled._

_Haley's jaw dropped in shock. "What are you so worked up about? It's just one date, and you don't see me acting like a total ass when you go out and have sex with any girl who'll look twice at you."_

_If Nathan was ever hurt by what she sad, he didn't show it and instead, his face registered nothing but coldness. "Who is he?"_

"_Anyone I choose to go on a date with is none of your business Nathan, so stay out of it. You are just like Lucas sometimes." snapped Haley. She knew it pissed him off more than anything if anyone compared him to his brother, but she didn't care. Nathan was acting like a complete jerk and she wasn't going to stand for it._

_She saw anger blazing immediately in his eyes and with his jaw clenched tightly, he stood up to leave. "Whatever,"_

_Suddenly, a sudden rush of panic overcame Haley as her mind raced to think of a way to make him stay. She didn't want him to leave – well, sort of. She couldn't understand why she suddenly felt a need to understand why he was so worked up about it … maybe find some answers to questions Haley always mulled over at night. So she blurted out, "Why do you care so much?"_

_He was just about to walk out the door when he turned back to her. "Things have changed."_

"_What kind of things?"_

_Nathan simply looked on at her, his smoldering gaze making Haley dizzy with both confusion and something else she couldn't quite place. "Have fun on your date."_

_Damn it, why did he have to make things so hard, Haley thought in utter desperation. Why couldn't he just tell her what was going on like normal people? Why did he have to hide behind his cockiness and arrogance and stupid walls she couldn't break through? "Just a few minutes ago, you were angry that I was going on a date and now, you're letting it go. Why do you care so much, Nathan? What are we to you because I don't even know what we are at this point, and honestly, I'm just confused. We hang out, we make out sometimes, and I let you go on dates, but for some reason, you don't let me. Why don't you just define what we are so I can stop worrying about what to do and what not to do around you."_

_He set his eyes straight at hers and his voice shook with a conviction that Haley understood as the truth. "I don't know what we are, Hales. I have questions and I probably have answers to some of your questions but as long as things are this way with us, I'm just as confused as you are."_

"_Why don't you just tell me you're jealous like a normal human being?" Haley demanded._

_The faint signs of a smile appeared on his face as the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Because it would answer some of your questions and that's not very fair for me, is it?" He chuckled at the exasperated look on her face and looked back on the shirt she was still clutching in her hand. "Keep the shirt."_

_And with that, he was gone._

"You look different," observed Nathan. He and Haley were in the Rivercourt, talking. He didn't know how long they have been there but there was not one moment that Nathan checked his watch for the time, afraid for things to end right away. He just wanted to be with her, gaze at her without being worried that she'd leave, talk to her openly like he never did before. He still couldn't believe how beautiful Haley was – even more beautiful than he remembered. She certainly looked older and more mature with her shorter, darker hair but there was a certain kind of strength in her eyes now, probably because of him. Nathan wasn't stupid; he knew he had hurt her terribly and the newfound strength he saw in her was from protecting herself.

"Different good or different bad?" Haley asked him. She was smiling slightly at him, and Nathan's heart swelled to see her happy, even for just a sliver of a moment with him. They had fought so much in the past that whenever Nathan looked back at the memories, he often winced at them. There were, of course, moments that she was happy with him. Nathan figured she was because he was happy during those times - happier than he ever remembered to be, to be quite honest.

"Definitely different good," replied Nathan, returning her smile. "I really like your hair."

"Well, I can't say the same about you. You still look the same to me–older, maybe–but still the same." She told him.

"You forgot to say that I look hotter now," grinned Nathan at her.

"To each his own," teased Haley, laughing when he pretended to be offended. The smile crept off her face as she tore her gaze away from him. "You really look good, Nathan … didn't you see all those girls trying to catch your eye in the café awhile ago? They must've been by the dozens!"

Nathan took her sudden and rather quick shift from serious to teasing in stride. He understood that she was having a difficult time trying to be comfortable around him, and if it had to be in a teasing mood, he didn't mind. "I had my eyes on only one girl."

Haley eyes were fixated on the cemented court but she knew he was gazing intently at her. Her heart thrummed rapidly against her chest, sensing immediately where the conversation was headed. "Please don't say things like that, Nathan – not now."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pain reverberating in his voice. "It's just … there are a lot of things I want to change, and obviously, the past is one of them."

"You can't change what happened, Nathan."

"I could change things now."

Haley didn't reply immediately as she absentmindedly played with a loose thread on her blouse. Her heart was hammering against her chest now, making her voice slightly tremble as she spoke. "I know you want to but … you have to wait for me."

"I don't mind waiting."

Haley finally mustered up the courage to look up at Nathan and the gaze he had for her was so intense that her heart couldn't have beaten any faster than it already was. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She wasn't going to over-complicate things again, not when things were already starting to feel comfortable between them. "So … how have things been for you?"

* * *

When Haley awoke early the next morning, she knew Lucas was already awake even before she stepped into the kitchen. He greeted her with the usual glass of orange juice and with a mumbled "thanks," she dragged herself on the nearest chair. She had to tell him.

"Where were you yesterday? You missed dinner with mom and Keith again." Lucas asked.

Haley could tell he already knew where she was, and with the forced way he was trying to keep his voice even, she instantly knew that it was going to be hard trying to explain without getting him mad. "I was in the Rivercourt."

Lucas didn't say anything. He stared at the table top for a few seconds before he quietly asked, "What did he say?"

He was making this more difficult than it already was. Haley actually preferred him to be angry and shout at her. The indifference in Lucas' voice was something she wasn't used to and she knew it was only because he was really upset. "He wanted to fix things."

"Would you let him?"

"I … don't know." Haley mumbled, averting her gaze when he finally looked up at her.

Lucas took her arm and gripped it tightly. "_Please_ be careful, Hales."

"I _am_ careful! Who says I wasn't?" She objected, her voice rising slightly.

"You haven't even been here for a week and he's already got you wrapped around his finger!"

"How do you even know that I am? You haven't once talked to him since we got here and you're telling me –"

"I saw the note, Hales. I saw the note he gave you, asking you to meet him in the Rivercourt," said Lucas, sneering slightly at her. "And you just went running off to him no questions asked. I bet you didn't even think twice about it –"

"Don't you dare assume what I thought and what I didn't, Lucas," she glared back at him. "If you can't find it in yourself to talk to your brother, then that's fine with me but don't go dragging me down to your level. If I'm decent enough to give him another chance, then that's my business. I'm just not giving that chance to him yet, so don't assume things you don't know."

Haley stood up to leave but Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her back. His light blue eyes were apologetic. "I'm sorry. It's just … I'm so worried about you sometimes. You're so stubborn and yet, so kind-hearted that you'd give anyone a second chance if they asked for it. You try to see the good in people, no matter how much they've hurt you and that's something I probably can never do. I just don't know if I can let you get hurt all over again. I let it happen once before and I'll never forgive myself to see it happen again. You're my best friend, Hales. You know that."

She sighed and gave Lucas a tight hug. "I know you're just trying to protect me, Luke. I get where you're coming from, but you should know that I'm more careful now. I'm not letting him get off easy, and right now, I'm just trying to see what his intentions are. Nothing more."

Lucas saw the conviction in Haley's eyes and nodded in defeat. "You think he's really being sincere now?"

"Maybe. I don't know yet," she answered truthfully. "You should talk to him, Luke. I think he would like to talk to you, too."

"Nah, I think I might just punch him then walk away," grinned Lucas.

Haley couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, so you can punch people now?"

"Hey, I've punched people before." Lucas said defensively.

"Yeah, sure," she teased sarcastically. "Remember in the second grade when I beat up that boy Timmy for knocking your juice over your homework? You were bawling your eyes out."

"Hey, I wasn't bawling my eyes out! And you didn't beat him up – you kicked him in the shin!" Lucas pointed out.

"Well, at least I did it when he was standing up. The only time you actually kicked him was when he already fell on the floor from me kicking his shin." Haley countered back, sticking her tongue out playfully at him.

"What are you two arguing about?" Peyton asked suddenly as she walked into the kitchen. She leaned down over the fridge and emerged frowning. "And who drank all the milk?"

"That will be Lucas," said Haley, patting him on the shoulder. "But he's always been mooching everyone's food. You better get used to it." She laughed as she dove to avoid Lucas' playful swat on her shoulder.

"Aw, Broody – that's the second time you finished something that was supposed to be for everyone!" Brooke whined as she joined them in the kitchen.

"Hey, I didn't finish the chips last night. Jake did." Lucas accused.

"I did not! Don't you go passing off your mooching to me, man." Jake countered, shaking his head. He proceeded to the cabinets as he looked for the cereal. "Alright, who ate all the cereal?"

"That would be Brooke." Peyton piped up.

"_Hey_! Peyton, you promised you wouldn't tell!" Brooke hissed at her.

"Well, it's no wonder you and Lucas get along so well." Haley teased them.

"Since you both ate all the food, why don't you two go grocery shopping today so that way, you can get your own food and stop eating everyone else's." Peyton suggested, laughing at Brooke's appalled face.

Brooke pouted at everyone when they all laughed. "Fine, but my share will be better than everyone else's, anyway." She then swatted Lucas' arm and said, "This is all your fault. You're carrying all the grocery bags to the car."

There was silence for a few seconds until Jake fake-coughed "Whipped", which sent everyone except Lucas laughing.

"Don't worry about it, Brooke. After you and Luke are done grocery shopping, I'll take you and Peyton to the mall." Haley offered, and Brooke's disgruntled mood instantly changed.

"Finally, something to do around here," she said happily.

"Better than her eating everyone's food," muttered Peyton to Haley, giggling.

"I heard that, Sawyer!" Brooke said sharply, narrowing her eyes at them.

Haley laughed loudly along with her friends as she sat back down at the breakfast table. She felt Lucas' reassuring smile to her and she smiled back, feeling slightly better. If today started out this nicely, she was feeling good about the rest of the day. Things were starting to look up ... at least for now.


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the great reviews. They really made my week. I'm going to try updating once a week as much as possible. I know how it annoying it could be to wait for an update of a story, and I'm going to try avoiding the long hiatuses now. Anyway, enjoy this latest update and please tell me what you think!**

**--Sera**

* * *

_It was already halfway through the semester and much to every professor's surprise, Nathan Scott had attended all of his classes dutifully, even getting more than just an average grade in all of his school work. Many people suspected it was because of the new girl he was rumored to be dating, Haley James._

_At first, a lot of people were surprised that he was dating her. For one thing, she was best friends with his half-brother and everyone knew that the two practically loathed each other. And Haley certainly wasn't Nathan's type … everyone knew that. She was intelligent, responsible and introverted. She didn't look like many of the girls Nathan previously dated … girls who spent hours in front of a mirror trying to look good, girls who frequented bars and parties. Haley James simply wasn't that kind of girl._

_So it shocked the heck out of everyone when they saw Haley with him. At first, she seemed to be only tutoring him but they couldn't hide the obvious attraction between them – even when they argued endlessly, practically anywhere. Their personalities clashed, and so did Nathan and Lucas, but somehow, Nathan and Haley always ended up together. And Nathan was even starting to act decent. There were rumors he didn't go to parties anymore, that he took his studies seriously now, and that he was really into this James girl._

_Of course, no one dared to ask Nathan about her. Anytime one of the guys even mentioned her, he went into a fit of protective jealousy, warning them to stay the hell away from her. Was he possibly in love? No one dared to find out. No one, that is, except Dan Scott._

"_Nathan, what's this I hear about you dating some new girl in your school?" Dan demanded as he marched into Nathan's dorm room._

"_Hi dad, college has been great. How have you been?" Nathan said sarcastically, not even bothering to look up from the magazine he was reading._

"_Don't get sarcastic on me, Nathan. You wouldn't even be in that school without my help." Dan sneered at him._

_Nathan felt his fists involuntarily clench at his father's stinging words. It had always been that way; Dan thinking that Nathan was nothing without him. He hated the way his father lorded over his life, interfering and mostly messing it up in the process. He hated that it was partly true … that without Dan and the constant pressure he placed on his son's shoulders, he wouldn't have made it that far. It was mostly the drive to defeat his father and prove him wrong that brought him to where he was now. Nathan didn't have much of a childhood with his father around and Dan was mostly to blame on his son's notorious attitude problem. "Like father, like son," people always claimed. Nathan detested just the thought of being compared to Dan. He hated his father and there was nothing worse than being like him._

"_Why do you even care? It's not like you really give a shit about who I date or not." Nathan snapped at him, not even caring to curb the anger in his voice._

"_I give a shit because she's ruining your game, Nathan. You were weak in the second quarter last night and you lost the ball at least –"_

"_You don't know a thing about Haley and me. Don't go blaming her for how bad you seem to think I played last night." Nathan managed to say between tightly clenched teeth as he glared at his father, who seemed to be unaware of how angry his son was._

"_Oh, so she has a name now?" Dan asked smoothly, traces of amusement in his face._

_Nathan was furious but he wasn't going to give Dan the satisfaction of riling him up. His blunt fingernails dug deep into his palms as he tried to calm himself down. He abruptly cut to the chase and said, "Look, if you're here to say that I played like shit, then just say it. Don't include my girlfriend because she has nothing to do with it."_

"_Wow, you refer to her as your 'girlfriend' now. I've never heard you say that before. Things must be really starting to get serious between the two of you," mused Dan, his voice laced with false enthusiasm. When he spoke, his eyes darkened and the amusement in his voice was replaced by something Nathan couldn't place but it scared him … scared him just enough to think about it even hours after his father finally left. "You better be careful."_

"Can we talk?"

Even with his back turned to Lucas, Nathan knew it was him. He dribbled the ball for a few seconds, aimed and effortlessly shot the ball, watching it as it smoothly fell through the hoop. He caught the ball as it bounced back to his direction and spun around. "I was wondering when you would ever show up."

"You're lucky I even did." Lucas replied curtly.

Nathan visibly winced and sighed. "I guess I deserve that."

"What are you doing here in Tree Hill?" Lucas demanded.

"I came for your mom's wedding."

"Don't give me that shit, Nathan. Mom told me that she hasn't even met you until you came here. She only invited you recently because apparently, she seems to like you a lot."

Nathan's eyes drifted away from Lucas' cold, hard gaze and he focused on the ball that he still held between his hands. He dribbled it, letting the sound of the ball as it hit the concrete to echo all over the court. For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them. "I came here for Haley. She once told me she was from here and I figured it would be worth a shot to see if she was here. I was going to follow her to New York when I found out she was living there, but then your mom told me that she invited her to the wedding, so I stayed."

He didn't know if Lucas was going to believe a single word he said, but he set his gaze firmly on Lucas, whose facial expression remained cold and unfeeling. "What makes you think I'm just going to let you get near her?"

"I don't think you will, but you found out long ago that she wouldn't listen to you, anyway." Nathan answered coolly.

"Which is exactly why things between the both of you ended up the way they are now," he sneered back, feeling a sense of triumph when he saw Nathan wince again. "Don't even think for one second I'm going to commit the same mistake again."

"I wouldn't come all the way here for her if I knew there wasn't any chance."

"You already don't."

"She never said I didn't have one."

"She doesn't have to tell you."

Nathan's jaw locked firmly into place as he stared back at Lucas. He could feel his temper shooting through the roof again, but he fought to keep it at bay. He didn't want another reason for Haley to hate him. "Her choices are none of your concern."

"She's my best friend, Nathan. Do you think I'm going to let you hurt her again? You really don't know what she went through, do you? Did you know that it was months until Haley would stop crying herself to sleep? Did you know how hard it was for her to see you on the news every day, see your success and your fame every single day and then pretend she was alright? Did you know how much she blamed herself for how things turned out? I'm not going to sit down and watch slowly break the life it took so long for her to rebuild after you broke her heart." Lucas said adamantly, his voice trembling as he did. His fists were so tightly clenched that his knuckles were turning white with the force.

"I'm not here to break her heart again –"

"She loved you, Nathan! She loved you so much and she gave so much of herself to you that when things ended between the both of you, there was nothing left of her! She has never loved anyone the way she loved you! How could you be such a blind asshole to hurt her – to hurt _my_ best friend the way you did? You think that coming here, apologizing and acting decent is going to fix things but it's not! There is no way in hell that you could undo what you did by being Mr. Nice Guy now, and there is no way I'm going to let you fool her again."

His words stung Nathan, and when he spoke, he was surprised to hear his voice uncontrollably shaking. "She's not letting me off easy, Lucas. You really think that she's so vulnerable and easy to fool, but she's not. I worked hard to get her to love me the way you say she did."

"Yeah, I bet you worked hard to ruin it, too."

With a loud shout of anguish and anger, Nathan swore and threw the ball high up in the air. The ball fell to the ground, bouncing off the cement and rolled to the very edge of the court. "You really think I'm proud of what I did to her? There isn't one day that I didn't regret what I did to Haley – _not one_. Every day, I see something that reminds me of her and it could be the smallest, stupidest thing and it just gnaws at me until I can't take the guilt anymore. There were so many times I wanted her back – so many times I wanted to apologize –"

"Why the hell didn't you?"

"Because I couldn't! Because I was an idiotic, self-righteous asshole who had too much pride to apologize," he paused, pacing the ground as he did. "I was feeling things I couldn't understand … things I never felt before … things that scared the hell out of me. I didn't want to face those feelings so I kept shunning them at the back of my head, but they were there all those years, just screaming at me to apologize already."

"So when you finally find it in yourself to apologize, you come here and think everyone is just going to accept you with open arms."

"No, I don't. I'm not a moron, Lucas. I know I have to work hard to earn that trust again, much more for the love she once had for me. But I'm not going to give up this time. I'm not going to leave anymore and I'm not going to stop just because you tell me to. I know I hurt her and I know I deserve to never see her again, but I can't go through the rest of my life without her. I know things will never come easy for me when it comes to her, but I accept that. If it'll take me years until I earn that trust again, I'm fine with that. I just …" Nathan's eyes were beseeching, and it startled Lucas to see it. "I need her in my life, Lucas. I can't imagine one without her in it."

When Lucas didn't answer right away, Nathan walked over to the edge of the court and picked up the ball. "You could treat me like shit all you want, Lucas. God knows I deserve it more than anyone, but you can't stop me from getting Haley back."

There was a seemingly endless silence that hung between them as Lucas contemplated Nathan's words. Much to his annoyance, he couldn't deny that Nathan was sincere about what he said. As much as Lucas didn't want to compromise, it left him with no other choice.

"For the record, she's never been with anyone else but you. Even after you."

Nathan's eyes widened in surprise and his heart hammered so hard against his chest that all he could manage was a tiny "Oh."

"I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Lucas sighed in defeat. He set his eyes straight at Nathan's. "Things between the two of us are far from a truce but you better hope for your sake you don't hurt her again, Nathan."

* * *

"It's funny." Haley remarked to Karen that afternoon. She, Brooke and Peyton had been shopping all day and she couldn't take any more "Haley, you _have_ to buy this blouse! You barely have any decent ones in the first place!" or "Why can't we shop in a music store this time?" so under a false pretense that she promised to help Karen out, Haley left the two of them in the mall to go to the café.

"What is?" Karen asked her.

Haley absentmindedly traced patterns on the counter as she spoke. "Most of Tree Hill has changed, but this is the one place that I never thought would, and it didn't. It still looks the same way as it did when we were in high school."

"Sometimes, it's better to go against change. It's nice to know that there are still some things that don't." Karen said, smiling at her.

"Yeah …" Haley got up and moved to the other side of the counter where Karen was. She bent down to the shelf at the bottom of the counter and moved the sack of sugar so it revealed the wall of the shelf. On it was a crude scribble of the words _Haley James and Lucas Scott = Best Friends_. Haley felt a smile creep up on her face. "It's nice to know that there are really some things that don't change."

"He's very protective of you." Karen commented, her gaze still on the scribble.

"He has his reasons. I always try to see the good in everyone so I guess you can call me a bit gullible sometimes." Haley shrugged as she got up from her position. "Sometimes, being judgmental helps."

"I'm kind of glad you're not," a voice said, interrupting them. It was Nathan and he was smiling slightly at them. Haley felt her heart instantly race at the smile he had on his face. "Hey Karen, do you need any help today?"

"Not really, Nathan, but thanks for the offer. You can keep Haley company though," and with a wink to the both of them, Karen walked away to serve a few other customers.

"How are you?" He asked her softly. She still had difficulty meeting his gaze but he didn't complain. At least she was trying.

"I'm good … just hiding from Brooke and Peyton. They've been bickering at the mall all day. It was all, 'Haley, you have to try this' or 'Haley, _please_ tell her she's wrong.' It was driving me insane." Haley complained.

Nathan chuckled. It was just like Haley to think shopping wasn't all that fun. It set her apart from so many other girls, and it was one of the many things why she appealed so much to him. She was like a breath of fresh air. "You know, Lucas confronted me today."

Haley's brown eyes widened with worry. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

He frowned at her, but still all the while pleased that she was concerned about him. "Why do you always assume that we beat each other up whenever we meet?"

"I kind of thought he would. He's not very happy with you." Haley admitted.

Nathan shrugged. "I thought he would, too. He made his not very happy part pretty clear."

"I'm sorry he's a jerk."

"I'm sorry I'm the reason he's a jerk."

Haley, who was not making eye contact with him, suddenly looked up. His gaze was sincerely apologetic. She felt her heart race all over again, much faster this time. "You just keep surprising me every time we meet."

"Is it the good kind of surprise?" He asked her, grinning.

"The very good kind," she smiled back. For a brief moment, the smile reached her eyes but just as quickly as it was there, it was soon gone. Suddenly, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her jeans pocket. She took it out, read the text message and groaned. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. My friends – they're demanding my presence now."

Nathan laughed. "They sound … interesting."

"They are," she grinned again at him, this time the smile definitely reaching her eyes and staying there. She slung her bag over her shoulder and added, "You should meet them sometime." And with that, she was gone. Nathan's smile was so huge that if it were possible, it would have reached the back of his head. He felt Karen's amused gaze at him and he defensively added, "What? Today's a good day."

It really was.


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter. You guys are the greatest. As promised, a once-a-week update is here! I hope I can keep this up, though. I know I'm kind of late for saying this, but I absolutely adored the 40's episode. It's definitely one of my top 5 favorite episodes. Chad did an amazing, amazing job. I can't wait for Joy's episode. I bet it's going to be so good. ;) Anyway, enjoy this chapter and please review!**

_Haley was walking across the quad when she spotted Nathan standing in the middle of a crowd of people. They weren't talking to him, but one of them was. She was tall, much taller than Haley. Her hair was beautiful, a deep, dark black and her eyes were sparkling blue. If she smiled, it would probably be enchanting. Haley suddenly felt so inferior compared to her. _No wonder everyone wants her, including Nathan,_ she thought wistfully. She stared at her reflection on a car window nearby and sighed, feeling even more dejected._

_She didn't know when and why she started having feelings for Nathan. She had always been physically attracted to him and much to her displeasure, even from the very beginning. But she didn't like _who_ he was, and she made that clear to him. It was just now … and it wasn't like Nathan did much to make her like him so much all of a sudden. Maybe it was the presence of that staggeringly gorgeous girl standing next to him, maybe she had gone insane, or maybe she really did like him. Truth be told, Haley didn't like any of her choices at the moment and with another heaving sigh, she leaned against the car and waited for them to stop talking._

_Haley felt her heart ache painfully when she saw the girl gently brush her hand on the side of his face and the smile he had for her – the smile she often wished he would give to her. But who was she, just someone he had a deal with, the best friend of the brother he didn't want, someone he was only using. The gesture wasn't much, and if it were another girl with another girl, it wouldn't have meant everything. But it was everything to Haley. She couldn't help but scowl at him when he approached her._

"_PMS?" Nathan asked cautiously, taking a step back as he did. When she didn't answer, he shrugged but still kept his distance. "You want to go get something to eat or something?"_

_Haley firmly kept her mouth shut, not wanting to say anything she would regret later on. She was definitely jealous, and there was no way she was going to let him know it. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Nathan suddenly said, "Hales, is everything okay?"_

_God, there was that nickname again. Why did it sound so nice when he said it? She hated the way it brought butterflies to her stomach. She hated the way he seemed to like that girl so much. She hated that she had to pretend she didn't care. It was all too much. When she spoke, she found her voice trembling slightly, so she cleared her throat and started over. "How is everything?"_

"_We're doing great. I think we might actually get somewhere again."_

"_That's … good." It wasn't the best compliment she could give, but the dull ache in Haley's chest was throbbing now, especially because he seemed so happy. His smile was widening as he spoke. She decided to switch topics. "How are your classes?"_

"_We had a test today, but I studied last night, so I'm pretty sure I passed." Nathan answered cheerfully._

"_Wow, you're actually studying now," teased Haley._

"_Well, yeah. Wouldn't want to disappoint you," his voice was playful, but there was something in Nathan's eyes that said otherwise. Silence fell between them again, but it was a comfortable kind of silence – one that gave them time to contemplate. Haley still tried to brush off traces of her jealousy and wished she didn't care so much._

"_And Dan?" She asked hesitatingly._

_Nathan suddenly stopped in his tracks as he dug his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket. His cheerful mood was suddenly gone and replaced by bitterness. Haley instantly regretted bringing it up. She gently touched his arm. "I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about him if you don't want to –"_

"_He wants me to break up with you."_

_The dull ache in Haley's heart twisted unbearably, as she felt her throat constrict at his words. She struggled to find the words to say as she looked up at him. She could feel hot tears start to fill her eyes but she didn't tear her gaze away. "Will you?"_

_He had been looking at her all that time, but right at that moment – the moment she really wanted him to look straight at her – he averted his gaze._

"Okay, who pays almost twenty dollars for one burger?" Brooke demanded loudly as she lifted her head from the menu she was reading.

"Lower your voice, Brooke," warned Peyton.

"Seriously, what is _in_ that burger? Diamond studs?" Brooke continued to complain, her voice still annoyingly loud. People seated nearby were already giving them weird looks.

"Brooke, shut up. Everyone is looking," hissed Haley.

"Who cares if they're looking? I'm not paying twenty dollars for one stupid burger when I can get five with the same amount of money in a fast food outlet. This better taste good,"

"God, kill me now," muttered Haley, banging her head on the table surface. "Brooke, you don't have to order a burger, okay? Just order something else."

"Um, actually Haley, I think Brooke's got a point. The burger's already one of the cheapest in the menu." Peyton pointed out.

"This is all your fault." Brooke grumbled at Haley.

"How is it my fault? I don't see you complaining about overpriced items when you buy a pair of shoes." Haley retorted.

"At least I can wear the shoes more than once. I can't eat the same burger twice. _Eww_," shuddered Brooke.

"Fine, then you pick the place to eat next time."

Peyton's eyes darted between her two friends and sighed. "How long are you planning to play your little game, Hales?"

"What game?"

"Your little dodge-Karen's-Café-for-lunch-because-Nathan-will-be-there game," answered Peyton with a self-satisfied smile on her face when she saw her friend redden slightly. "See, I'm right."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Haley said stiffly.

She felt both Peyton and Brooke's reassuring hands on hers. "Hales, you can't keep hiding from him forever."

"I'm not hiding from him." She replied adamantly.

Peyton sighed and wrapped her arm around Haley's shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it? I know you're not much to vent your feelings and things like that, but trust me on this when I say that it helps a lot. We've been here for one week now. All you've done is either help out with the wedding or you mope around in the house. We know you've been quiet about this, but we're your friends, Hales. We're here for you."

Haley looked up at both of her friends' expectant faces and sighed. "I guess I really haven't told you anything, have I?"

"Yeah, you pretty much kept us in the dark." Brooke piped up, earning an elbow from Peyton. "_What_?"

Haley couldn't help but giggle at them. "She's right, though. I owe you guys a lot of explanations. I _have_ been hiding from Nathan, and I'm not proud of it. I guess I'm just afraid to see him … mostly afraid of how he makes me feel, because he makes me want to drop all of my reservations for him. I'm afraid to trust him again, to open myself to him. He said he'll wait for me, no matter how long but I can't hang on to a promise he gave me when he's broken so much before."

"Haley, part of opening up to someone is to drop all your reservations for the person. You open yourself just enough to trust him that his intentions are true and that you trust yourself that when you do drop those reservations, it's worth it." Brooke said softly. She could feel Haley tense slightly next to her and hugged her tightly. "You don't always have to keep staying on the safe side to get what you want."

"Do you want him?" Peyton asked.

Haley was quiet for a moment. She stared at the surface of the table, her heart thrumming against her chest as she considered her answer.

* * *

"I want you."

"What?" Nathan wasn't quite sure if he heard right. He was standing in the middle of the Rivercourt when he heard Haley's voice behind him. He had hoped she would look for him tonight, and she did. He hadn't seen in her so long. She was probably avoiding him. It hurt Nathan like hell, but he understood. She needed time … space. She deserved that much from him. But there was no way in hell that he expected her to greet him that way. He tried to wipe the bewildered look off his face as he turned around to face her. As always, his heart raced when his gaze met hers.

"I want you in my life, Nathan. I want you there in so many ways I couldn't even count … so many ways I've always imagined you could be. I realized this today because for the past few days, all I've done is avoid you and avoid the places I know you'd be in. I guess I was just afraid to see you again and feel the things you make me feel. I don't always understand the way I feel around you, but I know this … I want you. I've always wanted you in my life, especially when you left," her voice trembled slightly and she took a small step back when he moved closer. "Let me finish … I've even wanted you when I haven't met you yet. There was always this loneliness I felt and couldn't understand and when I was with you, it wasn't there … I just … I feel like I'll always want you, even if I have to admit this to myself for the first time. I want you beyond my reason and –"

Haley paused, breathing deeply. Her heart was drumming against her chest as she realized what she just said. Horrified, she began to walk away, muttering to herself and shaking her head. "Oh my God, what the hell was I thinking? I can't believe I just said that to you."

"Haley – wait …" She walked even faster and Nathan had to run to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Haley, hang on a second … please don't look away," he pleaded.

"Why shouldn't I? You've looked away before," she said accusingly.

Nathan sighed, closing his eyes as he remembered with regret what he did. "Yeah, I did. I'm not proud of it, Haley. I'm not proud of anything I've done but right now, hearing what you just said, it changes a lot of things."

Haley didn't say anything. She simply hung her head low, staring at the cement beneath their feet, wishing there was a hole beneath her where she could fall.

He placed a finger beneath her chin and gently lifted her head so he could look straight into her eyes. "Do you really feel that way, Haley? Have you always wanted me even if I didn't deserve to be wanted?"

"Yes," she said softly, unable to say anything else. The way he was looking at her was making her lose her train of thought.

"And do you still want me now?"

"More than ever,"

"That's all I need to hear," he leaned down to kiss her but just as his lips were about to touch hers, she moved her head. He sighed. "Hales …"

"I need time, Nathan. Time to think this through … think things through," she stroked the side of his face with the tips of her fingers, feeling electricity pulsing wherever their skin made contact. "I need you to wait for me. I don't know how long it will be, but I just want you to know how I feel and that I'm not leading you on."

"Haley, I never thought that you were leading me on. But I kind of think that now, though," he cocked his head at her, smiling crookedly at her. "You can't say all those things to a guy and not let him kiss you."

Haley couldn't help but giggle. "I really did mean what I said, though."

"I know," he nodded, grinning in spite of himself.

"We'll take things slow and see how things will go, okay?"

"I've told you before, Hales – I'm willing to wait." Nathan told her sincerely.

"Um, I'd like you to come over to the house today." She said nervously.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My friends have been dying to meet you."

"I bet – especially with all the hate stories you and Lucas have about me, I must sound like one awesome guy." Nathan teased.

Haley laughed. "You have to be ready, though. My friends can be a bit crazy sometimes."

"Crazy's good," he smiled at her. "I'd love to meet them, Hales."

"Great. Come over to the house around five later," and with a small smile at him, she began to walk away.

"_Well, here we are," he announced. They were standing at the doorstep to her dormitory that night, coming from one of their dates._

_For some reason Haley couldn't explain, she felt nervous all of a sudden. There was something in the air tonight, like he was expecting something from her. She wasn't exactly sure what it was, but she didn't take the risk of asking. Instead, she took out her keys and was just about to unlock the door when Nathan spun her around and kissed her fully on the lips._

_It wasn't long or full of pent-up passion. It was short, chaste and sweet, very unlike him but nonetheless, it made Haley's heart surge at the simple contact and her knees tremble. She seemed to have lost her ability to speak and instead looked up at him questioningly._

"_Never say good-bye without a kiss, I always say," he explained, grinning at her._

Haley suddenly turned around and walked back to him. Much to his surprise, she stood on tiptoe and quickly brushed her lips against his cheek. She laughed at the taken aback look on his face. "'Bye Nathan. See you later."

"If this is your way of taking things slow, then I'm all for it." Nathan teased.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just be there later, okay?" As Haley walked away, for the first time in how long - she was smiling from ear to ear because of him.


	13. Chapter 12

**Hey you guys! Thanks for the reviews last chapter. As promised, here is another update. Please tell me what you think, and as usual, constructive criticism is always welcome and much appreciated.**

**--Sera**

**

* * *

**"_Do you understand it now?" Haley asked Nathan._

"_Hmm, yeah," replied Nathan absentmindedly, his gaze at the book that lay open in the table between them, but his mind was clearly somewhere else. He didn't notice the annoyed look on her face until she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Hales. I was …"_

"_Clearly not listening to me," she cut off abruptly. "Look Nathan, if you think this is a waste of time, just tell me, okay?"_

"_I don't think you're ever a waste of time."_

_Haley's eyes widened for a moment at what he said. She noticed that he shifted his gaze and she cleared her throat again. "Then what's bothering you?"_

_Nathan didn't answer and she sighed. "Okay, we'll just stare at this table then."_

_After a few moments, Nathan finally blurted out, "Will you have dinner with me and my family?"_

_This time, Haley couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in surprise. "Ex…cuse me?"_

"_I know, it's going to be so awkward and I'm really sorry for asking you right now, but my mom asked me this weekend and it's been on my mind all week. We're supposed to have dinner in this restaurant she picked out, and she even made reservations and I was so afraid that you'd say no and –"_

_She cut him off by pulling him across the table and towards her for a kiss. She felt as if her entire body suddenly was on fire at the simple contact and she found herself blushing slightly at what she did. She smiled when he stared at her. "You were rambling,"_

_Nathan made a sheepish face. "Yeah … I think I got it from you."_

"_You've been spending way too much time with me then."_

"_I don't think it's too much. It's not enough, actually," he sighed in exasperation when she looked up at him, startled. "Will you stop looking so surprised whenever I say something? It's like you don't know me at all."_

"_It's just … you don't ever say those things."_

"_Not in public," he muttered, pretending to look around cautiously. He grinned at her when she giggled. "Do you want me to stop saying those things?"_

_She shook her head. "You continue to surprise me, Nathan Scott," she paused, eyeing him warily. "Including with that whole having-dinner-with-your family thing. That wasn't funny, Nathan."_

"_You thought I was joking?" Nathan asked, his brow raised at her._

"_Weren't … you?" She asked in a tiny voice, suddenly feeling ashamed. "Oh God, I feel like an idiot. Nathan, I'm so sorry. It's just … dinner with your family, it's such a huge step."_

"_A huge step?" He repeated questioningly._

_Haley was quiet for a few seconds. "Meeting your family, Nathan … really? Isn't that a relationship thing?"_

"_Yeah, it is."_

"_And you're okay with that, even if it is a relationship thing?"_

"_Well, what do you suppose are we?" Nathan asked her, his voice starting to sound a bit too defiant._

"_You tell me," she answered, her voice also sounding as defiant as his. "Nathan, you can't keep throwing things like that at me and expecting an answer when you don't even tell me anything."_

"_Well, you know what I think?" He took her hand from across the table, lightly running the tips of his fingers over her soft skin, making her tremble. "I think you're incredibly beautiful and really intelligent. I think you make me laugh, and you make me want to be a better person. I think I _am_ in a relationship, and I think I am in one with _you. _And I think I want you to think that, too."_

_By the time Nathan was finished speaking, he was already standing next to her so he towered over her seated figure. Haley's heart was hammering against her chest and she couldn't bring herself to say anything, much less breathe properly. She forced herself to look up at his expectant face. "Oh, you were serious about that, too," she said quietly._

"_I'm sorry you have to doubt me all the time." He murmured, his lips grazing the side of her face, making her entire body shiver at the contact._

_All Haley could do was just nod in reply as she pulled his face to hers and kissed him. She felt her heart soar, her stomach swoop, her knees buckle … she decided to get used to those sensations now. She had a strong and very good feeling she would be having more of them from now on._

_He pulled away and breathlessly asked, "So, what do you say – dinner with my family?"_

"_Even Dan?" She asked him, her brows shooting up._

"_Well, no … not really," he fidgeted slightly. "I sort of … didn't tell him."_

_She wondered why, but decided not to ask. "So it's just going to be me, you and your mom?"_

"_You'll like my mom." He told her._

"_You think she'll like me, too?" She asked him rather hopefully._

"_She'll love you," he assured her, smiling before he leaned down and kissed her again._

"Luke…?" Haley began quietly as she walked into her best friend's bedroom. She hadn't seen him all day. When Haley woke up that morning, she expected him to be in the kitchen like always had been, but she was surprised to see the kitchen completely empty. Brooke had explained that Lucas had some stuff to deal with and wouldn't be back until later that day.

No one knew where Lucas was, so Haley left him a message, telling him that she was planning on inviting Nathan to dinner. She didn't mention that she had already told Nathan about it, so there was no saying "no" now.

She saw his standing figure at the foot of the bed, staring at three shirts he had laid out on the bed. He looked up when he heard her footsteps. He smiled briefly at her before returning to what he was doing.

"What's with the shirts?" Haley asked him.

"It's for tonight." He answered.

"Luke, we're just having a normal dinner of pizza and soda while watching DVD movies downstairs. You don't need to wear all those fancy shirts." Haley pointed out.

"Oh," he muttered back rather sheepishly. "So I ironed all these shirts for nothing?"

"I can't believe you were trying to pick out three shirts for dinner." Haley exclaimed and much to his annoyance, she began to giggle. She dodged the hand that was about to punch her shoulder and fell on the edge of the bed, still laughing loudly.

"What, I can't look nice for dinner?" Lucas asked indignantly.

"You're actually preparing for the dinner, Luke! I seriously thought you were going to have a hissy fit as soon as I came home!" Haley teased, giggling uncontrollably. She sat up, panting slightly as she wiped beads of sweat off her brow. "Man, I can't believe I was actually nervous about telling you, you little pansy."

"Hey, I am _not_ a little pansy and I do _not_ get hissy fits when you tell me things about Nathan. I just get annoyed." Lucas said defensively.

"Sure, we'll call it that if it makes you happy." Haley said, kinking her brow at him. She laughed when he opened his mouth and then closed it again a few times. Eventually, he gave up on thinking of a good comeback and kept quiet.

After a few silent moments, Haley spoke up. "Thanks, Luke."

"For what?"

"For being so open about this," she answered, wringing her fingers as she spoke. "I was so nervous about this that I purposely told you today after I told Nathan so it would be too late for you to say no. I never thought you'd actually be okay with this."

Lucas sighed. "Am I really that protective over you? Jeez, I think I'm worse than your dad ever was."

Haley smiled. "It's just you being you, Luke. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"But don't think I'm going to be so lax about this. I still think he's an ass," he declared before reluctantly adding, "I guess he's just less of one now."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, I mean … he seems really different now, Hales. I don't get it. You'd think that now that he has everything he could possibly want and ever dreamt of, he'd be a much bigger ass than he was before, but he isn't. I don't know. He had me fooled before, he could have me fooled now. But then again, I could also be wrong." Lucas explained, running his fingers through his hair,

Haley could only nod as she tried to understand what he was trying to say. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to understand. "Thanks Luke," she repeated what she said earlier, unsure of what else to say. "Just be nice tonight, okay?"

"Hey, I'm always nice."

"Sure you are," she grinned at him before standing up. She was just about to walk out when she took a look back at the shirts he had laid out and then to him. "Oh, and just so you know, none of those shirts will look good on you anyway."

He threw a pillow at her as she laughed loudly. "Will you get out of here?"

* * *

"He's fifteen minutes late!" Haley complained as she relentlessly paced the floor of the living room, glancing anxiously at her wrist watch every five seconds. Everyone was seated on the couch, watching her in amusement.

"Haley, calm down – you're going to pace a hole in the floor." Jake told her.

Haley nodded, trying to regain composure. "Right, just be calm. There's a good reason why he's late, even if he's not answering my calls, there's no traffic in Tree Hill, he knows where the house is and he promised he'd come. Just be calm."

Brooke was clearly trying to hold back giggles. "Relax, Hales. It's no big deal. There's a plausible explanation why Nathan's late."

"Is there?" Haley asked. Her tone was so hopeful that it made Peyton snort derisively.

"Actually, I can't think of one," answered Brooke brightly, shrugging.

"Oh God, this can't be happening. I spent the last three hours trying to make this house look halfway decent –"

"Not to mention bossing everyone around to do things for her," muttered Peyton.

"- and I spent another two hours trying to look nice …" continued Haley.

"She had the nerve to laugh at me awhile ago for picking a nice shirt," remarked Lucas under his breath.

"The pizza guy even came earlier than him …" Haley ranted as she paced the floor.

"I'm hungry," groaned Jake as he stared at the steaming pile of pizza boxes on the coffee table.

Finally, Brooke and Peyton got up and stood in front of Haley so she would stop pacing frantically.

"Hales, we mean it. Calm down, okay? Nathan's coming, alright? You just need to relax and –" Peyton began when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Oh God, he's here!" Haley shouted. She turned to them. "Jake, when I get back here, those pizza boxes better be sealed. Lucas, _please_ be nice to him – even for just one night."

Lucas sighed and nodded. "I get it, Hales. I'll be decent to him …" he paused and added in an undertone, "As long as he is to me,"

"Brooke, no weird sexual innuendos or anything like that, okay?"

"_Hey_!" Brooke protested while Peyton laughed loudly behind her.

"That means you too, P. Sawyer," called Haley. She walked to the front door and smoothed her clothes. Her heart was hammering against her chest again and she could already feel her palms sweating. _It's just a friendly dinner. That's it_. With a deep breath, she opened the door. God, he looked good. He looked _really_ good. This did not help her nerves at all.

"Hey Hales …" Nathan greeted quietly, smiling. "You look … wow."

"You look … wow yourself," she replied, feeling stupid when the smile on his face widened, obviously amused at her. "Come in."

As soon as the pair walked into the living room, Haley immediately noticed with dismay that both Brooke and Peyton were staring openly at him. She inwardly groaned at them. "Uh, Nate – this is Jake, his girlfriend Peyton and her friend, Brooke … Lucas' girlfriend."

Brooke and Peyton smiled warmly at Nathan, while Jake got up and shook his hand. "Hey man, nice game with the Sonics last time."

"Thanks. I actually didn't think we'd win," admitted Nathan, grinning. He turned to Lucas. "Hey man. You, uh – didn't change much."

"Neither did you," he replied curtly.

"I didn't think you'd actually get a girlfriend. Congratulations." Nathan said, his tone suddenly arrogant. He ignored the jab Haley gave him.

"I didn't think you'd actually keep a girlfriend. Oh, that's right … you didn't." Lucas sneered at him.

Before Haley could intervene, Brooke suddenly announced loudly, "Well, this is getting awkward. Anybody up for pizza and a movie?"

"I know I am," said Jake, eagerly reaching out for one box of pizza.

They all settled themselves in the large couch, Brooke and Lucas at one end, Peyton and Jake in the middle, and Haley and Nathan at the other end. Haley sighed when she saw the two brothers exchange death glares at each other.

"Nathan, you promised you'd be nice." She admonished him, loud enough so only the two of them can hear.

"I was going to be," said Nathan defensively. "He started it, anyway."

"Oh, will you grow up already? It's been –"

"Okay, horror movie or romance movie?" Peyton asked, holding up two DVD's.

Much to Haley's annoyance, everyone except her chorused for a horror movie and she turned to her friends. "You guys!"

"The horror movie serves a higher purpose, Tutor Girl." Brooke said in a sing-song voice. Something in the way her eyes twinkled mischievously told Haley that her friends were up to something.

"I _hate_ horror movies," mumbled Haley as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Don't worry, Hales. I'm here to protect you," whispered Nathan into her ear. The way he said it and the way his breath tickled the tiny hairs on her neck made Haley shiver and her heart skip a beat.

"See, it's serving a higher purpose already," teased Peyton, winking at them.

"This was a bad idea." Haley groaned into her palms. It was going to be a _long_ night.


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! Thank you for all the reviews last chapter. I know I haven't updated in awhile. I have no excuses. I suck. Hopefully that doesn't stop you from reviewing this chapter, though! Oh, and for those of you who haven't read my new story yet, it's called Who You Were. Please check it out and tell me what you think.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter and reviews are much appreciated! And next chapter will have a very nice continuation to the flashback in this chapter, so look forward to that. ;) Take care, guys.**

**--Sera**

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* * *

**

"_Don't go in there_!" Haley shrieked at the television. She clamped her hands over her ears and buried her face into her knees as she tried to block out the scary background music. As it echoed throughout the living room, she heard Peyton and Brooke let out shrieks that matched her own. She shifted slightly so she could look up at Nathan. "She went in there, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did," he was smiling slightly at her.

Haley stole a glance at the television and when the killer leaped out of nowhere, she let out another scream that was even louder than the background music that made the scene all the while scarier. She figured she couldn't stand this horror movie anymore without screaming her throat dry so it was best to get out of there. Haley extricated herself from the couch. "Okay, that's it. I'm going to get a glass of water. Anyone want one?"

Everyone impatiently shushed her and much to her annoyance, Nathan was chuckling quietly. "You're just going to hide in that kitchen until the movie is over, aren't you?"

She rolled her eyes at him and smacked the back of his head. As soon as Haley got into the kitchen, she leaned against the counter and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Haley hardly watched horror movies, much less the disgustingly gory slasher ones like the movie that they were watching now. She had closed her eyes for the most part of the movie, but she still saw some scenes that she would rather not remember at all. And all those bloodcurdling screams and horrifying, thundering music didn't help even when she had her eyes closed.

"You ready to come back in there?" Brooke's voice asked from behind her.

Haley did a little jump from her spot leaning against the counter and proceeded straight to the refrigerator. "You want a glass of water?"

"You know, you're not making this movie thing any fun." Brooke remarked.

Haley emerged from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of water. "What are you talking about?"

Brooke let out an impatient sigh. "Haley, the whole reason why we even rented that movie and watched it was because it was an excuse for you to hide your face into Nathan's chest."

Haley practically choked on the water she was drinking. Still coughing, she set the glass on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Excuse me?"

"Oh please, Hales. Don't be so naïve. Horror movies are the perfect excuse to hug the guy next to you, and that guy just happens to be Nathan," she frowned at the look of horror on Haley's face. "You haven't done that before?"

"Well, no one has ever really set me up on one of those things. My best friend in an overprotective jerk who, by the way, is really starting to piss me off," she glared at the door as if Lucas was there. "He promised he was going to be nice."

"Give him a break, Haley. It's not easy being nice to someone you have always hated, especially when you're involved. At least they're not fighting anymore." Brooke said consolingly.

Haley could only nod. They were not fighting now because there was a movie on, but what could possibly happen after the credits rolled? She sighed at Brooke. "Well, your plan seems to be working. I hid into Nathan's chest for practically the entire movie and all he could do was laugh at me. Is that supposed to happen?"

Brooke smiled. "You have much to learn, grasshopper."

Haley couldn't resist rolling her eyes and said in mock excitement, "I can't wait."

She followed Brooke outside and was partly relieved to see that the movie was over. Realizing that Nathan and Lucas could start fighting, she quickly ran to sit next to Nathan. She was suddenly disappointed that she no longer had an excuse to lean against Nathan and reluctantly admitted that it did feel nice doing again – like she was being protected. Haley wanted to curl up against him but there was no denying the awkwardness emanating from between them now and instead, she kept her distance. Occasionally, when either of them moved, their knees would brush against each other and even that sent Haley's heartbeat going.

Nathan seemed to feel Haley tensing and hesitatingly reached out to squeeze her forearm. He smiled when she felt her relax slightly and she cautiously leaned back on the couch. She still kept her distance from him but it was progress, at least.

"That was an awfully long drink of water." He teased her.

She glared at him, pouting slightly as she did. "I was thirsty."

"Sure, you were. You've been screaming for the whole two hours of the movie, I'm not surprised you needed a glass of water … or two," he grinned at her, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. He laughed at the way she narrowed her eyes at him. "I had fun though."

"Yeah, I bet you did," grumbled Haley, her arms crossing over her chest. "You really enjoy riling me up, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. It's my new hobby." Nathan said proudly, grinning.

"Well, you should get a new hobby." She told him.

"Yeah, but this new one won't be such fun."

"Anyone up for some beers? Luke, Nate…?" Jake offered as he stood up from the couch.

"Uh Jake, I don't think that's such a good idea," began Haley but then she felt Nathan's hand on her arm and she turned to him. "Do you?"

Nathan nodded. "I'll be right back."

When Nathan stepped out of the room, Brooke suddenly said, "Tutor Girl, I don't mean to sound like Peyton when she's all negative and stuff, but are you sure it's a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it – Lucas and Nathan in a room with alcohol. Doesn't that worry you?" Peyton asked.

"Well, yeah," said Haley, glancing at the doorway that lead to the kitchen. "It _kind_ of does, but I feel like if they don't get over themselves now, they never will. Besides, if they do get in a fight, at least Jake's in there, right?"

Peyton's eyes suddenly widened. "Where do you keep the peroxide?"

* * *

"Hey Nate, heads up," called Jake as he tossed Nathan a can of beer, which Nathan expertly caught with one hand. He walked over to the counter and handed Lucas a can. Desperate for any kind of conversation, Jake cleared his throat loudly and began with a rather awkward, "So …"

There was nothing but silence and angry glares between the two brothers, and despite Jake's best efforts, neither Lucas nor Nathan didn't seem to have an intention of having a decent conversation. "I'm just gonna go outside …" Jake muttered and as he walked out, he added clearly under his breath, "…where it's safe."

A painfully awkward silence hung between them but just when Lucas was about to leave, Nathan found himself involuntarily saying, "Luke, wait …"

Lucas turned around, his brow raised but other than that, he remained silent. Fine, it was going to be a monologue then. At least Nathan would have bragging rights to Haley later that he gave an effort.

"Luke, I'm sorry," he winced at the glare his brother gave him and continued, "Really, I am. I know you probably won't believe me, and I get it. I haven't exactly been the most trustworthy person, and I don't deserve your trust. I especially don't deserve Haley's, but she gave it, anyway. I promised her that I wouldn't get into a fight with you tonight, and I did. I was just … well, uh … I didn't know what I was doing, actually. But I'm sorry."

Nathan waited a few moments for Lucas to say something but when he didn't, he nodded and proceeded to leave.

Just when he was about to walk out of the kitchen, he heard Lucas suddenly say, "You ever thought that maybe you got too used to being an ass?"

He couldn't help but grin in spite of himself and he was so glad that Lucas said something that he didn't even care that he was being called an ass. It was true, anyway. He turned around and said, "Yeah, that's a good explanation for it."

Lucas eyed his brother, his gaze still a bit suspicious. "I still don't trust you."

"You don't have to. As long as Haley does,"

"She always will."

"I'm trying to give her reason to."

"What happens after the wedding, when you have to go back to your life in Los Angeles and you return to being a basketball superstar? What happens then?" Lucas asked straightforwardly.

Nathan hesitated for a moment. He hadn't thought about that part. He had completely forgotten about his other life, his life that right now, didn't seem to matter all the much as it did before. The parties, the spotlight, the fame – he had forgotten all about them. Of course, basketball still mattered but there was Haley now. What was he going to do about that? She mattered more than anything right now.

He looked up at Lucas and looking at him straight in the eye, he replied, "I don't know. I honestly haven't given much thought to it until now. I don't know what I'm going to do, but right now, it doesn't even matter. Haley matters."

"So you are going to stay here until you get Haley back. What happens then? What happens to your career or hers?"

"I don't have all the answers, Lucas. If I did, I would be just breezing through all of this, wouldn't I?" Nathan paused. "I went through a career without her by my side, and even if I had everything I've ever dreamed of, it wasn't enough. If I want her to be with me and still have a career so bad, I'll figure something out. Right now, I just want her back."

Lucas nodded. "You really think you could figure something out?"

"Maybe," he shrugged. "Another thing you're just going to have to trust me with, I suppose."

* * *

_It was raining hard outside tonight. The raindrops fell onto the window and the roof with crushing force that made it hard to fall asleep to. Nathan lay wide awake on his bed as he stared at the ceiling, trying to think of something boring to fall asleep to. His apartment seemed even emptier than it usually was. He had told his mom that he didn't need an apartment and he was fine with just staying in a dormitory like everyone else, but she didn't hear of it. Nathan didn't like the silence at night, so he usually threw parties but it was exam week, and every person in campus was studying. No one wanted to be in a party, even one thrown by Nathan Scott._

_He should be studying himself too, but he had been staring at his textbook for so long that he was having a headache. He decided to call it a night even if it only slightly past ten. Suddenly, sleeping early didn't sound like such a good idea._

_Nathan was just about to get up and switch on the lights so he could study again, but then, there was a sudden, sharp rapping on his door. Who in the hell could be visiting him at this time, and in this weather, for that matter?  
_

_Frowning, he walked out to the living room and opened the door. His eyes widened when he saw Haley standing on his doorstep, soaking wet. God, she looked hot with her all messy and her entire body dripping with rain. Her clothes clung to her wetly in all the right places and he had to keep himself from staring at her for too long. "Hales, what are you doing here? You're soaked."  
_

"_Yes, thank for you pointing that out, Mr. Obvious," said Haley sarcastically, her teeth chattering. It was then he noticed that she was trembling._

"_Oh crap, sorry Hales, come in," he quickly stepped aside so she could walk in and he shut the door behind her. Trying to keep his eyes from staring at her ass, he looked around the room and grimaced when he saw how messy it was. "Sorry, it's a bit – uh, cluttered. I wasn't expecting anyone."_

"_It's fine," she replied, still shivering. "D-do you have any dry clothes I could borrow?"_

Eyes off the ass, Scott! _"What? Oh – uh, yeah. Dry clothes, sorry, hang on," he sped into his bedroom and stared at the pile of clothes at the bottom of his closet. He should've at least tidied up when he had the chance. What the hell was he going to give her? He grabbed a shirt that looked clean – and thank God, smelled clean too when he sniffed it – and one of his old basketball shorts. Before leaving, he grabbed a towel that was neatly folded on his top shelf and returned to the living room. He handed all of them to her. "Here you go. The bathroom's down the hall and to the left."_

"_Thanks," she answered gratefully with a smile and walked away._

_And this time, Nathan could no longer stop himself as his eyes lingered on her behind. When had he gotten so lucky?  
_


End file.
